Opioid addiction is a chronic brain disease
Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin and prescription pain relievers available legally, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, and morphine. In the body, opioids interact with specific receptors on nerve cells in the brain and nervous system, working to block pain, slow breathing and heart rate, and create a general euphoric feeling. Unfortunately, because of the way they work in the body, opioids are highly addictive.
Opioid addiction is a chronic brain disease in which a person regularly finds and uses opioids, despite harmful consequences to themselves and those around them. Like all forms of addictions, it is characterized by the inability to consistently abstain, impairment in behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships, and a dysfunctional emotional response. This often results in drug-related crime, homelessness, as well as law enforcement and health care costs that often put a strain on the community.
Both the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) stress that opioid addiction is a disease because it can change how the brain works.
