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Opioids Aren’t the Problem.

Most People Who Are Prescribed Drugs Don’t Abuse Them.

Michele Sharpe
4 min readOct 18, 2019
Image description: Pills spilling out of a prescription bottle onto a spoon.
Image description: Pills spilling out of a prescription bottle onto a spoon. Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash

Depending on the study you read, between six percent and twenty percent of Americans get in trouble after being prescribed prescription drugs. That trouble ranges from simple misuse to becoming dependent, to becoming addicted, to overdosing.

It’s important to note here that dependence and addiction are two separate things.

If your body gets accustomed to taking opioids, you may become dependent. If the drugs are suddenly withdrawn, you may very well experience withdrawal symptoms: sweating, chills, diarrhea. The solution — as responsible doctors will prescribe — is to taper off instead of stopping suddenly.

If you become dependent (not addicted) and experience withdrawal, you will be uncomfortable, but you won’t start doing disgusting things to get drugs. You won’t start stealing from your family or giving $25 blow-jobs in a parking lot

Hospital room with two empty bed
Photo by Daan Stevens on Unsplash

On the other hand, if you become addicted, you might start doing disgusting things like that. Withdrawal after dependence is uncomfortable. Withdrawal after addiction is a horror movie. Addiction is…

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Michele Sharpe
Michele Sharpe

Written by Michele Sharpe

Words in NYT, WaPo, Oprah Mag, Poets&Writers, et als. Adoptee/high school dropout/hep C survivor/former trial attorney. @MicheleJSharpe & MicheleSharpe.com

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