Author name: Dave Cundiff, MD, MPH, FASAM

Opioids are a class of medications designed to help people with pain control. They are a synthetic version of opiates, which are created from naturally occurring substances such as plants. So all opiates are opioids, but not all opioids are opiates. If you’re asking what opioids are, it could be because a doctor prescribed you […]

If you’re not sure about the opiate definition, you’re not alone. A lot of people take these kinds of medications for pain control, but they might not know how the medication works or what kinds of side effects or problems could come about from taking it. The biggest issue with opiates is that they’re good

People talk about drug use or drug abuse all the time, but what about drug misuse? Is that the same thing? The answer to that is yes, and also no. People can misuse drugs — both legal and illegal — in various ways, without abusing them in the sense of becoming addicted. However, it’s not

There are a lot of helpful medications available today. Unfortunately, some of those medications can also be addictive. If you’ve been asking yourself is Adderall addictive, you probably already suspect that it is. Even when used carefully, Adderall can become addictive. That’s why it’s carefully controlled by doctors and pharmacists. Still, it’s possible to develop

One of the most common addiction questions is, “Is marijuana addictive?” The simplest answer is that yes, marijuana is a drug, and you can develop an addiction to it. However, the issue is more complex. Dive into the addictive properties of marijuana, why the drug is dangerous and how to recover from marijuana addiction. Is

Those who aren’t familiar with drugs may ask themselves the question, “Is heroin an opiate?” Answering this question is important for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, because if someone has struggled with opiates in the past, they’ll know they’re more likely to develop an addiction. Opiates have been around for thousands of years,

You can buy it at the grocery store. You can fuel up your car, walk inside the gas station, and pick up a six-pack. So, is alcohol a drug? Yes, in fact, it’s the drug that the world currently accepts the most. Understanding the Makeup of a Drug Because of alcohol’s widespread popularity across virtually

In the teen years and early adulthood, one mature activity that too many young people mirror is alcohol consumption. Recently, young people have started making dangerous cocktails. One popular cocktail is lean drink, also known as sizzurp or purple drank. So what is lean and why is it so dangerous? What is Lean? The trick

In the oxycodone vs hydrocodone debate, there are plenty of similarities. Both medications require a physician’s prescription. Each one works as a painkiller for acute as well as chronic pain. More importantly, both drugs present with a high addiction and abuse potential. Opioid Addictions Show Dramatic Increases in the United States Prescription drug addiction is

News reports about America’s opioid epidemic frequently fail to mention the toll it takes on individuals and families. Focusing more on incarceration rates, the media offers few solutions to the individual struggling with drug dependence. What do you need to know about opioid use in the United States today?   91 Deaths: The Number of