# Why is opiate addiction so feared? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 29, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331 "2012-02-29T10:57:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331/121 "2012-04-25T21:34:19Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > I am so soory for your pain. I hope that it will work out. Thank you, as bad as my pain is and as bad as it has screwed my life I am quite thankful as I have meet so many who are worse of than I am. I consider myself quite lucky as the fall I took could have easily paralyzed me. Not to mention I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world and I have loving children, she balances all of the bad in my life and tips the scale in my favor. What more does one man deserve? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331/122 "2012-04-26T00:25:04Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Thank you, as bad as my pain is and as bad as it has screwed my life I am quite thankful as I have meet so many who are worse of than I am. I consider myself quite lucky as the fall I took could have easily paralyzed me. Not to mention I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world and I have loving children, she balances all of the bad in my life and tips the scale in my favor. What more does one man deserve? Well said! ---
**Author:** ![JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@JESS-A-MA-KESS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JESS-A-MA-KESS)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331/123 "2013-06-02T10:11:55Z")
> [@grude](#): > > So basically there is a class of drugs which by themselves are pretty harmless in appropriate doses except for causing drowsiness and constipation. Overdoses can be fatal, but the same can be said of aspirin or Tylenol and other drugs in every bathroom. Some people do things like inject pills or use dirty needles to IV, but you don’t have to(like condemning all sex as dangerous because some people have unsafe sex with strangers.) > > Opiates have no damaging effects on the body as far as toxicity long term, there are pain patients and methadone clinic patients who have been taking very large doses for years. > > Opiates cause a physical dependency with long term use, which is not pleasant sure but with tapering and support meds most can step off with a few days of discomfort. > > A small percent of any random group of people seem to be prone to addiction to opiates(I think estimates are around 1-2%) and they actually enjoy taking opiates and do not want to stop. Assuming they had easy access to a supply they would keep taking them and wouldn’t encounter much of a problem. > > Is this accurate? To use an analogy there is a plant that if you eat it makes you feel weird, and if you take it continuously you will feel sick when you stop for some days. Some people enjoy the weird feeling and wish to take it always, but its taboo so this has enormous difficulties. > > Now of course you never know whether you are prone to addiction or not, which is a good argument to think twice about taking opiates if you don’t need to. But if you do become addicted and there is a easy supply hey wouldn’t be much worse than the caffeine junkies lined up outside Starbucks would it? > > So where did the enormous and overwhelming stigma and taboo come from? First of all there’s a couple different ways people start their opiate journey. Some people have chronic pain, back problems, surgery or bad car accidents that doctors prescribe pain killers to. The people who are only given them a short period of time will either put them down and never think about them again and may have not even finished their whole prescription and they are the ones who don’t end up having a problem. Then there are the people who have chronic pain and have to go to a doctor to manage their pain meds so they can go through life without constant pain, but it’s a double edge sword because even if you take what is prescribed and no more they will still go through withdrawals if the meds are taken away because the body becomes dependent on it and that has caused a lot of the opiate addiction in this country is getting put on pain meds for a long time and then people taking more than they are supposed to to either catch a buzz they got when they first started taking them or they take more because they are in more pain and then run out early a d start buying off the streets or seeing multiple doctors to get what they need which makes withdrawal worse. Now those people will either stick with pills, move up to heroin for cheaper better high, get on a methadone program to manage addiction and pain or get on suboxone to get off of them. Now there’s the other people like me who dabbled around with pills in HIGHSCHOOL because my parents always had them and I liked the warm and fuzzy feeling but as I got older and had tried more things I tried the strongest pills out there via IV and became addicted to the rush and wanted to be high everyday and then I became dope sick and would wake up everyday feeling like death and needing to get high to function and when pills became too expensive I tried heroin and liked it better and that became what I needed everyday. I can’t do anything but lay in bed and maybe take a shower when I am dope sick and am 100% + the minute I got high. This is feared by people because it is easier than you think to overdose at any time and then the fact that it makes you feel like you have the worst flu ever is not appealing. And it will steal your soul, lose everything, end up in jail, homeless and it makes you a different person, personality wise and also it can affect how you take care of yourself and eventually will take your looks from you. When people think of a heroin junky there are a lot of stigmas attached to it because we are no different than people who pop a bunch of pills everyday all day, heroin junkies just do it in a more direct pure way with something that is cheaper and lasts longer. People just automatically think of overdoses when they think of people who shoot heroin and picture them passed out with a needle in their arm. Which is possible and yes it is graphic but has the same affect on the loved ones as the people who overdose from popping or snorting too many pills. IVing drugs will never be socially acceptable and I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who hasn’t tried it because its hard to come back after you transition into that way and lifestyle ---
**Author:** ![SuperBrokenFingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SuperBrokenFingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperBrokenFingers)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331/124 "2013-07-12T20:28:59Z")
Withdrawals from diesel are pure hell. If you haven’t been there or don’t know addiction to opium, shut up. Opiates play with your brain. This is why even tho you feel good and don’t need a fix, you will do it if you have it. Tired of people who never been there giving opinions. And tired of people not answering the fucking question but instead sharing their life storries. Answer the damn question or kick rocks. I come I here looking for help like many other and seek an answer and get replies totally irrelevant to the fucking question!!! Tired of you lonley losers who feel the need to talk. Shut the fuck up and go yap elsewhere with everyone else who is like you and don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about and your fucking opinions don’t count. Last time! If you don’t know, keep shut. Perfect example… Q- Help! I need advice on withdrawing from oxy at home. A- I heard you can’t die from that but I was once addicted to sucking dick and I ended up in the hospital and almost died… Fuck you for wasting space on here and complicating shit for others. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331/125 "2013-07-12T21:44:45Z")
> [@SuperBrokenFingers](#): > > Withdrawals from diesel are pure hell. If you haven’t been there or don’t know addiction to opium, shut up. Opiates play with your brain. This is why even tho you feel good and don’t need a fix, you will do it if you have it. Tired of people who never been there giving opinions. And tired of people not answering the fucking question but instead sharing their life storries. Answer the damn question or kick rocks. I come I here looking for help like many other and seek an answer and get replies totally irrelevant to the fucking question!!! Tired of you lonley losers who feel the need to talk. Shut the fuck up and go yap elsewhere with everyone else who is like you and don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about and your fucking opinions don’t count. Last time! If you don’t know, keep shut. Perfect example… Q- Help! I need advice on withdrawing from oxy at home. A- I heard you can’t die from that but I was once addicted to sucking dick and I ended up in the hospital and almost died… Fuck you for wasting space on here and complicating shit for others. **Moderator Note** **SuperBrokenFingers** , berating other posters in this way is not permitted in General Questions, or in other forums outside the Pit. I am not issuing a formal warning as yet, but further posts of this kind will jeopardize your posting privileges. PS. Since this thread is old, I’m closing it. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-opiate-addiction-so-feared/614331.md?page=6)