American Addiction

Every 7 minutes in our country, a person dies from a drug overdose, while a child is also born approximately every 30 minutes dependent on opioids. How do we as healthcare professionals offer non-stigmatic patient care and contribute to the progress of society in the right direction? Substance use disorder (addiction) is likened to an iceberg or a weed, in that the issues underneath the surface are typically even more complicated than what is viewed from the surface. Addiction spans hundreds of substances of abuse highlighted by stimulants (cocaine and methamphetamine), cannabis (plant, synthetics, and extracts), and opioids (heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanyl). As one can recall with the substance of ethyl alcohol (i.e. beer, wine, and hard liquor), a substance may never actually chemically change, yet can move across legal classifications of substances, leaving all healthcare professionals in need of knowledge on all substances of abuse. Opioid use disorder (opioid addiction) is combated with the medication-assisted treatments (MAT) of naltrexone, methadone, and buprenorphine, while opioid overdose respiratory depression is reversed with naloxone. Over the course of this activity, we will aim for “higher” education on all of these dynamic aspects. Unlike opioids, this activity is sure to open your eyes and possibly even elevate your blood pressure and/or heart rate!!!