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Fentanyl. The synthetic opioid drug was at the center and a major driver of the 3rd wave of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Fentanyl prescription medication is used to treat chronic and moderate to severe pain and belongs in the same family of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone. It offers highly effective pain relief making the drug potency a high risk for tolerance, dependence and addiction. It is almost 100 times more powerful than morphine and works by binding to the opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord, which control functions of pleasure and pain.

Methadone, a man-made opioid prescription medication, is often used in the treatment of opioid use disorder. It can be used to treat chronic pain management, detox from opioids, part of medication-assisted treatments (MAT) and maintenance therapy for drug addiction. Using an opioid to treat an opioid addiction may seem contradictory. However, methadone maintenance programs have been scientifically proven to be among the most effective methods for treating addiction to heroin and other opioids.

With the growing popularity of using methamphetamines, so is the variety of ways in which the drug is ingested. One of the most common ways to ingest meth is through smoking or inhaling. Most users prefer this method because it produces very intense effects and does not leave noticeable injection marks. Meth pipes are often used to smoke the simulant substance. A meth pipe is a type of drug paraphernalia. Meth pipes are used because they are a fast and effective way to deliver the effects of the drug into the body to provide an intense and immediate “high” within seconds.

Picture this. You’re out having a few drinks with friends. The next thing you know, you’ve had one too many. You want to sober up. How do you flush the alcohol out of your system? Maybe you should drink some water. Maybe you can grab a cup of caffeine. Maybe you can even gobble up a carb-heavy meal/snack. Do any of these actions actually help to flush alcohol from your system quickly? Many seem to think so.

Polysubstance use is not an uncommon occurrence. Those who engage in polysubstance use often have an addiction to one or both substances. This is especially true when it comes to using substances with alcohol. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and when used with other drugs, can enhance or intensify their effects. One common polydrug pairing is hydrocodone and alcohol. Hydrocodone is an opioid drug commonly prescribed to relieve moderate to severe pain. Mixing hydrocodone and alcohol can lead to potentially dangerous effects with short and long-term consequences.

Methamphetamine and cocaine are both powerful and highly addictive stimulant drugs. They affect the central nervous system and produce feelings of increased energy, alertness and a sense of euphoria. They are some of the most commonly abused drugs. In fact, they are sometimes mistaken for each other due to a similar appearance and effect on the brain and body. Though they share many similarities, meth and cocaine are also quite different.

Heroin is an illegal and highly addictive semi-synthetic opioid. It is derived from morphine, which is a naturally occurring substance extracted from the seeds of the poppy plant. In a 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 1 million people ages 12 and over in the United States reported having a heroin addiction in the past year. The schedule I controlled substance impacts the brain’s central nervous system.

Keppra, also known by its generic name levetiracetam, is an anticonvulsant prescription medication that treats seizures. It is generally prescribed for patients who suffer from epilepsy and can be used in combination with other medications to treat seizures and other similar symptoms. Keppra is used to treat myoclonic epilepsy, temporal lobe epilepsy, focal impaired awareness or complex partial seizures, myoclonic seizures, secondarily generalized seizures and bilateral tonic clonic seizures.

Alcoholism is one of the most common types of mental illness affecting both young and older populations in the United States. Alcohol use disorder not only affects the mental well being of a user, but it can have physical effects as well. In long time, severe users of alcohol, there may be physical signs that appear not only in the body, but on the appearance of the face and skin. Alcoholic face is the non clinical term for someone with a red face and other distinct features due to excessive alcohol use. Oftentimes facial appearances can provide great insight into the health and well being of a person. Alcohol is a substance that can drastically alter a person’s physical appearance starting with their face.

Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death in the United States. Opioid addiction is driving the overdose death rate in the U.S., setting record highs with an estimated 112,000 deaths in the last 12 months. In this third wave of the opioid drug crisis, addiction experts and researchers are searching for new and effective methods to fight and treat this ever-rising threat. Harm reduction is an evidence-based approach to treating substance addiction and overdose that engages with people who use drugs and equips them with life saving tools and information.