The Biology of Addiction: Opioids Explained Simply

What really happens when you take opioids?

Imagine you’re walking in New York at peak rush hour. After a day filled with sightseeing, you just want to take a peaceful nap, away from all the chaos in the city. You definitely don’t want to see an alleyway filled with people with crooked legs, twisted hands, and weary faces. You also don’t want to see them drinking alcohol from a green bottle, or seeing them holding the iconic white powder, also known as heroin. And you definitely don’t want to see them staggering towards you, once innocent people turned lifeless, with no trace of their humanity. This is what opioids can do.

Opioids are a set of drugs made to reduce pain. They work by binding to opioid receptors in your brain, reducing the effects of the pain. There are 3 types of opioids. Natural opioids, also known as opiates, are made from the opium poppy. Morphine is an example of an opiate. Semi synthetic opioids are made by processing opiates. Heroin, oxycodone, and hydrocodone are all synthetic opioids. Synthethc opioids are opioids fully made in a laboratory, such as fentanyl. All three types, however, can have devestating side effects, such as fatigue, constipation, and most importantly, addiction.

Opioids are effective pain killers, but they are also extremely addictive. If someone takes opioids, and suddenly stops using them, they will suffer badly from withdrawal. According to Scott G. Weiner, an emergency physician at the Brigham and Women’s hospital, 15% of people will still be on the drug one year later when they first start taking it. Just by taking one dose of opioids, people’s lives can be permanently ruined. Recently, people have also been consuming them by purchasing them over the counter. And guess what? They get the opioid, without any questions about their medical history. We can’t let people ruin their lives after taking a single shot of oxycolone or hydromorphine. If we don’t ban over-the-counter opioids, at least restrict just anybody from accessing it.

Okay, but how do we prevent this crisis? I feel like a big answer is to raise awareness about these drugs. I had an idea to conduct a survey in my class to find out what were the first three words people thought when they thought of opioids. Surprisingly, more than three quarters of my class had no idea what an opioid even was. This explains why 2.2 percent of people ages 12 to 17 are using opioids, only second to marijuana. What’s more, almost 4 million Americans have an opioid use disorder. I feel like these huge numbers can be reduced if we start raising awareness to the public.

I know that we are already making a change. 2023 marked the first decline in opioid related deaths since 1999. So we are putting regulations. But I think we can do better. Maybe we can start by creating more programs that raise awareness about drugs, like that one concession stand that I volunteered at that raised awareness about drugs such as fentanyl. Then, we could implement standards regarding drugs. Right now, the amount of opioid that a doctor gives for a certain condition varies by a lot. By implementing strict regulations, we can stop people from getting more opioids than they need, which is a primary reason for addiction. The path is laid out. We just need to enforce it.

I am not writing this because I want opioids to be banned. Opioids have their place. However, make sure to use them minimally. Small steps such as raising awarness, implimenting standards, and disposing of these drugs properly can help us overcome this epidemic. We can’t have people die because they took something that was supposed to save them. Don’t let that happen.