Category: Opioids

The 7 Most Commonly Abused Drugs in College

alcohol, drugs, pills on a wooden background

The 7 Most Commonly Abused Drugs in College

For many college students, going to college is the first point in life when they have to be alone, self-sufficient, and responsible for themselves. That also means that for many, college is a time of self-exploration, creating and setting boundaries, and dealing with high levels of stress at the same time. As a result, nearly all college students will experiment with drugs at some point. For most, that means trying cannabis or even trying something like Ritalin. And, for many, it ends there. For others, that goes on to become a long-term problem.

College students drink and use drugs for a lot of reasons. Those include peer pressure, with students in sororities more likely to drink and binge drink and also more likely to have alcohol abuse problems later in life. They also include for stress management, with many college students using drugs to “self medicate” stress, to sleep despite stress, or to reduce anxiety. Others use “study drugs” like Ritalin to try to boost exam results. As a result, more than 22% of college students regularly use drugs and another 55% regularly drink, and heavily.

The following data covers the 7 most commonly used drugs in colleges.

Marijuana

Marijuana or Cannabis is one of the most commonly abused drugs in the United States. That’s partially driven by the fact that many people don’t see it as harmful. In other cases, it’s because students use it to self-medicate and reduce stress. At the same time, in 2016, 20% of full time college students used cannabis regularly. In 2021, 11% of college students reported using cannabis daily, up from 6% in 2011. This means that cannabis is more popular in colleges than ever, with more and more students using it every single day. Cannabis is most-often used to control anxiety and to de-stress. However, some students also use specific strains as a study drug, although this is less common.

In addition, while cannabis has a low abuse profile compared to some drugs like opioids, it’s still highly addictive, with an estimated 1 in 4 daily users suffering from addiction.

Ritalin

Ritalin is so well-known as a study drug that it’s sometimes more associated with college students and abuse than with ADHD treatment. Today, somewhere between 5 and 30% of all college students have used or are currently using the drug. This prescription stimulant is intended to reduce the symptoms of ADHD and ADD. However, college students use it to increase alertness, to improve focus, and to stay awake during study, lectures, and tests.

While not highly addictive, Ritalin is illegal to use outside of a prescription. It can also cause heart irregularities and may increase risk of heart attack. And, when mixed with alcohol and other drugs, Ritalin can significantly increase the risks of overdose.

Adderall

Adderall is another prescription stimulant that’s rapidly becoming more and more popular among college students as a study drug. This means that students are very likely to use it in the same capacity as Ritalin, as they are a very similar drug. Adderall lasts for either 6 hours or 14 hours, which means it’s more likely to still be active when students start drinking or using other drugs. In addition, college students are 3% more likely to use Adderall when age matched to non-college student populations.

Adderall is also illegal to use without a prescription. However, the risks are virtually identical to Ritalin.

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Hallucinogenic

MDMA, LSD, ecstasy, and other hallucinogenic drugs remain extremely popular on campuses across the United States. Often, this means these drugs are taken as party drugs. However, microdosing is also increasingly popular, as students take tiny doses of the drug to boost performance, reduce stress, or create subtle psychedelic effects. Most students think of microdosing as safer than taking a full dose, but over the course of the day, often build up higher levels of hallucinogenic in their system than by taking a single dose at once.

While the addiction profile for hallucinogenic is low, these drugs are still dangerous. Many have a risk of causing psychosis, months-long symptoms, and extreme reactions like vomiting that can be life-threatening. As a result, ER-related visits have gone up by close to 4.7% since 2011.

Cocaine

Cocaine was the fourth most commonly used drug on college campuses in 2017. In one study, 4% of full-time college students used cocaine. In others, cocaine is shown to be much more common, with as many as 13% of students in some universities using it. Cocaine is primarily used as a party drug, which is popular for being relatively safe and for wearing off quickly. However, cocaine still exposes users to significant risks including hypertension, mental health disorders, hyperactive disorder, heart problems, increases in paranoia, and increases in anxiety. As a result, students use the drug thinking it’s a relatively harmless party drug but end up facing significant side-effects and cravings at the same time as high stress and peer pressure.

Opioids

Today, an estimated half a million college-aged adults have an opioid use disorder. This means that 1.2% of all people in this age group are addicted to opioids, with many more using them. Changes in how opioids are prescribed to young people have also resulted in increasing reliance on street drugs like heroin and fentanyl, including mixes of fentanyl and Adderall, which pose significantly high risks of overdose. Opioids are primarily used as a party drug or self-medicating drug, with people using them to destress, to feel better, and to escape from the stress of college life. At the same time, these drugs pose a significant risk of addiction as well as of physical and mental health complications.

Alcohol

Alcohol is the single most abused drug on college campuses. While not traditionally though of as a drug, this intoxicating substance is abused by more than 55% of all college students. In fact, 39% of college students report binge drinking. Men in sororities are most vulnerable, with increased risk of binge drinking, substance use disorder, and later life substance use disorder. Alcohol creates risks of addiction, mental health problems, and physical health problems. For many students, it also makes it harder to study, harder to focus and stay alert in class, and harder to have the mental energy for study.

This means that alcohol abuse can significantly sabotage study and your ability to feel good around college. It can also mean making impulsive decisions like drinking too much, not doing homework, and staying up too late, which makes the rest of study harder.

Getting Help

If you or a loved one is struggling with drugs or alcohol, it’s important to reach out and get help. Today, most college campuses offer resources for students who need help. For example, you can often get therapy, work towards enrollment in a rehabilitation program, and get therapy right from campus. However, it’s also important to talk to your doctor, to figure out the underlying causes behind substance abuse, and to work towards building coping mechanisms and skills that will allow you to navigate college without turning to drugs and alcohol. For many college students that means going to therapy, getting longer-term treatment and support, and ensuring that you have a good support network in place, even when going off on your own to a college.

Fentanyl Withdrawal: Symptoms, Dangers, Treatment

Hand with pen drawing the chemical formula of fentanyl

Fentanyl Withdrawal: Symptoms, Dangers, Treatment

Fentanyl is rapidly becoming one of the most common recreational opioid drugs on the market. That’s both because it’s commonly sold as a strong and cheap alternative to opioid painkillers and because it’s used in counterfeit and cut versions of other drugs. Fentanyl is found in everything from heroin that’s cut to reduce costs to faux Xanax pills – meaning that millions of people are using fentanyl even when they aren’t aware of it. It’s also used as a prescription painkiller after surgery, where you might have a patch or a slow-release pill or even fast-acting pills after significant surgery and advanced-stage cancer treatment. In any case, fi you’ve been using fentanyl more often, it will have a withdrawal phase, and that withdrawal phase can be significant and even dangerous.

Fentanyl is currently considered to be one of the most dangerous opioids on the market. It’s responsible for about 70% of all opioid-involved overdose deaths. And, at up to 100 times the strength of morphine, it’s easy to overdose on because even a tiny amount is too much. This means that withdrawing from it and getting clean can be critical to ensuring your safety. However, getting clean can be dangerous in and of itself and it is important to approach fentanyl withdrawal and detox carefully.

What Happens When You Withdraw from Fentanyl?

Fentanyl withdrawal starts within 6-12 hours after your final dose of the drug, or about 24-48 hours if you have a slow-release formula. Here, symptoms largely map to those of regular opioid withdrawal, but can be somewhat more severe as fentanyl is one of the strongest opioids you can take.

Here, you might not notice a difference between fentanyl withdrawal and a severe case of the flu. All of your symptoms will typically start out light and then will increase in severity. In addition, they may come with symptoms of anxiety, panic, and distress, which don’t come with a normal cold or flu. Here, you can expect symptoms of:

Sweating
Shaking or tremors
Nausea
Diarrhea and vomiting
Cravings for more fentanyl
Abdominal cramping and stomach problems
General malaise/muscle pain
Agitation
Irritability and mood swings
Fatigue and lethargy

These symptoms start out light and can increase to be very severe over the 1-2 weeks of symptoms. It’s also important to manage side-effects, as leaving them alone can result in increased risks of dehydration, choking, and even seizures. This means ensuring that you drink enough, putting in effort to sleep on your side, and ensuring that you’re investing in health at the same time.

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How Long Does Fentanyl Withdrawal Take

Withdrawing from fentanyl typically takes anywhere from 14-20 days. However, if you are taking a slow-release version of the drug, it can take much longer. In addition, many of the mental side effects and symptoms can take significantly longer to go away. This means you’ll have to manage your mental health and treatment over the longer term.

If you’re withdrawing from fentanyl in a treatment center, you’ll typically receive medication to speed up this process and to reduce the symptoms and the severity of the symptoms.

3-24 Hours – Early onset withdrawal means that withdrawal symptoms kick in. This normally happens in 3-6 hours with normal fentanyl. However, if you have a slow-release version of the drug it can take much longer. Therefore, you’ll have to adjust your timeline based on what kind of fentanyl you’re using. Early withdrawal typically starts out with anxiety, cravings for more of the drug, and the start of early cold and flu feelings. Here, you’ll most likely want to invest in self-care and either go back to bed, ivnest in light exercise, and ensure that you drink enough water.

Day 1-4 – Withdrawal symptoms normally kick in fully after the first 24 hours although it can be as long as 48 hours if you have a slow-release version of the drug. Fentanyl withdrawal symptoms normally start with sweating, chills, runny nose, and sometimes a cough. Most people will also start to experience nausea and potentially diarrhea or vomiting right away as well. Your mood will drop and you’ll feel anxious, low, and cravings will intensify. For most people, this means you’ll want to ensure that you have good social and emotional support in place. You’ll also want to ensure that you are taking care of yourself, drinking enough water, eating well, and getting light exercise. After the first few days, you’ll also be at risk of respiratory problems and breathing difficulties, you might have muscle shaking and spasming, and tremors. Most people do need medical attention here and having a nurse or a doctor to monitor your condition is important.

Day 5-22 – In most cases, your symptoms will plateau and then start to balance out after the first 5 days. If you’re on a slow-release version of fentanyl, it may take up to 14 days to reach this phase. From there, you’ll need another 10-15 days for symptoms to gradually go away. Here, your existing symptoms should stay the same but should gradually fade over time, meaning you will feel physically better every day. However, mental symptoms may not fade and you may require therapy and counseling to deal with those symptoms before they actually fade.

In most cases, fentanyl withdrawal will take about 15-24 days total no matter what kind of fentanyl you are using. This means you can expect symptoms to last about 2 weeks on average.

Dangers of Fentanyl Withdrawal

Fentanyl is one of the strongest opioid drugs on the market. Often, this means that you’ll face two major risks when withdrawing from the drug. The first is that side-effects can be dangerous. Here, you might face tremors, potential seizures, and muscle shaking which can cause medically significant risks. You might also experience risks of dehydration and the significant danger to your organs and your health that go with. People can also risk choking when vomiting, nutritional deficiencies, and other potentially severe side-effects of normal flu symptoms. Anyone who withdraws from fentanyl also faces the significant risk of relapse, where you are at risk of giving in to cravings. This puts you at increased risk of overdose, because your tolerance can drop significantly even in a very short amount of time. This means that the same dose you used before withdrawing can result in an overdose after withdrawing. Therefore, you might be putting yourself at risk just by using your normal dose.

Getting Treatment

If you or a loved one is struggling with fentanyl use, it’s important to get help. Here, you can get treatment and assistance during the detox and withdrawal phase. This very often means that you’ll receive a medication assisted treatment program, where you get methadone or suboxone to help you manage withdrawal symptoms and reduce their severity. These drugs also reduce the risk of relapse, which significantly reduces the risks associated with withdrawing from fentanyl. Professional treatment for fentanyl addiction also means getting behavioral health support, counseling, and group therapy for drug addiction, all of which will work to give you the tools to manage life without fentanyl so you can stay clean over the longer term.

Fentanyl is one of the most dangerous opioids on the market. If you or a loved one is using it, you’re putting yourself at risk. At the same time, withdrawing from fentanyl without medical support is also dangerous, because symptoms and side-effects can be severe and because the risk of relapse can be significant. It’s important that you get treatment and support to ensure you stay safe. Good luck with getting clean from fentanyl.

How Effective is Suboxone for Fentanyl Treatment?

Suboxone is an FDA-approved prescription drug most commonly used to help people maintain abstinence from opioid drugs. As a result, suboxone is one of the most prescribed medications for Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs. It’s also listed as a life-saving drug by the World Health Administration as an essential drug. At the same time, there’s a lot of controversy around Suboxone – both for use with opioids and also for extra strong opioids such as fentanyl.

Here, many people are concerned that they’re replacing one drug with another. Others are concerned that Suboxone also has a withdrawal period. And, in some cases, individuals are concerned about the potential of precipitated withdrawal, which means that you suddenly go into withdrawal from a very strong drug, which can result in hospitalization. At the same time, Suboxone is considered one of the most important drugs for helping people maintain recovery – so you don’t run the risk of overdose when you go back to fentanyl. What are the factors that impact this? And, how effective is it?

What is Suboxone?

Suboxone is an FDA-approved combination drug composed of Buprenorphine and Naloxone. It’s typically orally administrated and is primarily used in maintenance programs to help individuals stay clean during recovery from opioid use disorder. The drug has been shown to greatly improve outcomes for individuals by preventing relapse, reducing cravings, and reducing the length and severity of the detox phase. It’s also comprised of two of the most important drugs in opioid use disorder treatment:

Buprenorphine – Buprenorphine is an opioid drug with a light side effect profile and a lower addiction profile than those used recreationally. In light doses, buprenorphine causes no euphoria or sedation, meaning that it doesn’t have a driver for individuals to abuse it recreationally. However, it does bind with the same opioid receptors in the body and brain as fentanyl, meaning that while you’re taking it, you don’t experience physical cravings and you don’t go into withdrawal. This drug is sold on its own as Subutex. Here, it’s an important and lief-saving drug. However, it still carries the potential of abuse as buprenorphine can cause euphoria in high doses and when injected.
Naloxone – Suboxone also contains Naloxone, which is known as a the opioid overdose withdrawal reversal drug. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist which causes opioids to stop binding with receptors in the brain. This can pull individuals out of an overdose. It can also cause sudden onset withdrawal which means that someone taking Naloxone suddenly will almost certainly require hospital care and treatment. However, it’s poorly digested orally. This means that while you are taking the Suboxone orally or according to prescription, it won’t have an effect. However, if you take more than the prescribed dose or attempt to inject it, the Naloxone will take effect – and you will go into withdrawal.

In short, Suboxone is buprenorphine, an opioid drug with an anti-abuse mechanism built in. That makes it safer for people to take home and use on their own, even during early stages of addiction.

When taking it, you should mostly feel normal, but without cravings or withdrawal symptoms associated with quitting opioid drugs like fentanyl.

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Is Suboxone Effective?

Suboxone is one of the most-recommended drugs for medication assisted treatment. That recommendation comes from the fact that it works, it has a very low risk of abuse, and the safety mechanism of Naloxone means that patients can more easily use it unsupervised at home. That allows more freedom to individuals to live their lives rather than going to a doctor’s office or clinic every day for a dose of buprenorphine.

Suboxone is also fully FDA approved. It’s consistently pointed to as greatly improving outcomes in opioid use disorder treatment. However, it is not a treatment on its own. Suboxone does not help you overcome behavioral addiction. Instead, it reduces cravings and withdrawal symptoms, allowing you to go about living your normal life while getting treatment for substance use disorder. Without dealing with cravings, you’re more likely to be able to get through treatment without risking relapse and potential overdose on fentanyl. This means it greatly reduces risks of accidental death while also reducing risk of relapse to begin with. At the same time, you still need behavioral therapy to recover from a behavioral substance use disorder. For this reason, any substance use disorder treatment program offering medication assistance with Suboxone will pair it with therapy and counseling.

Overall, Suboxone is a very safe and effective drug that can function as a crutch while you learn the skills to stay clean. It reduces the impact of quitting right away, reduces cravings, and lowers the threshold to staying clean. As a result, people who use it are significantly more likely to stay in recovery than those who are not in a MAT program.

What’s are the Concerns of Using Suboxone with Fentanyl?

Fentanyl is widely known as one of the strongest opioid drugs on the market. It’s also increasingly finding its way into dozens of drugs, including faux prescription pills, drugs sold as heroin, and even directly sold as fentanyl. At 10,000 times the strength of morphine, fentanyl is extremely strong and has a very high risk of overdose and accidental drug death. In fact, more than 74% of opioid drug deaths are linked to fentanyl. When you use Naloxone to treat fentanyl overdose, it causes significant and immediate withdrawal symptoms which can require medical attention. This is known as precipitated withdrawal. Persons taking suboxone run a risk of precipitated withdrawal as well. However, according to a study published in 2023, about 1% of fentanyl users taking suboxone will go through precipitated withdrawal. This means that it is important to start using suboxone in a clinic if you’re a fentanyl user. However, risks are extremely low.

In other cases, people are concerned about using one opioid to recover from another. However, buprenorphine has an extremely low addiction profile. This means it’s very unlikely that you become addicted to the drug. You will become dependent on the drug, which means you’ll have to taper off it in order to quit. However, it also means you can safely quit opioids, with low risks of strong withdrawal symptoms, and low risk of relapse. As a result, Suboxone is associated with improved recovery rates, reduced risk of death, and decreased cost of treatment.

Seeking Out Medication Assisted Treatment

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, it’s important to look into getting help. If that substance is fentanyl, withdrawal and recovery are difficult and can be dangerous. Medication assisted programs with Suboxone can greatly reduce those risks. However, it’s important to discuss your options with your doctor and your rehab facility. Both should help you to look at your options, associated risks, and how those risks come into play for your recovery, your long-term health, and your short-term treatment. Chances are very high that you’ll be recommended into a tapering program to reduce fentanyl usage or directly into a detox clinic where you can start suboxone under medical supervision and then directly into a behavioral mental health treatment program.

Eventually, the right treatment for you depends on your mental health, your addiction, and what you want for yourself. Suboxone can be life-saving, it can reduce risks, and it can help you to stay in recovery. Either way, good luck getting treatment.

How Can I Tell if I’m Taking Fake Opioids?

If you’re taking pain pills recreationally, chances are, you have to source them from somewhere other than a pharmacy. That leads to increasing risks of the drug you think you’re taking not being present at all. Instead, today’s street drugs include counterfeit pills containing everything from stronger opioids like fentanyl to methamphetamine to benzodiazepines and even veterinary medications.

If you buy prescription pills on the street, it’s very likely to be some kind of opioid. The bad news is that fake prescription pills are also very likely to include extremely dangerous drugs like fentanyl. In fact, one DEA report showed that 6 out of 10 fake prescription pills they seized actually contained a potentially lethal (over)dose of fentanyl – an opioid that’s up to 100 times stronger than morphine.

How Common are Fake Opioids?

In 2021, the DEA seized some 20.4 million fake opioid pain pills. These drugs can often look extremely similar to the drugs they’re knocking off. And, with labels like Percocet, OxyContin, etc., it can be difficult to tell that you’re not taking the real thing.

With recent crackdowns on opioid prescriptions, it’s likely that fake opioids are more common than the real thing. This means that unless you get your pills from a pharmacy or someone you trust who go them from a pharmacy, you can’t be sure that your pain pills are genuine.

How Dangerous are Fake Pills?

According to the CDC, over 4.7% of deaths caused by overdose in 2021 were proven cases of fake opioids. In some states, that rate is as high as 15%. Those fake prescription pills included OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Xanax, and Adderall, so not all of them were sold as opioids. However, almost all of them included fentanyl.

That translates to a devastatingly large number of overdose deaths. In 2021, 106,000 Americans died from an overdose, meaning almost 5,000 people are proven to have died after taking fake opioids and pills. Those numbers are the highest they’ve ever been, which is linked to the rise in synthetic opioids like fentanyl, which are often significantly stronger than any other drug on the market.

In addition, with no dosing or quality control on fake opioids, you have no idea what you’re taking. A Percocet pill is dosed and rigorously checked for quality control. A fake Percocet may contain almost any amount of fentanyl and just one could send you into an overdose. And, according to the DEA, 60% of fake Percocet on the market has the ability to do so – dependent on your tolerance, metabolism, and genetics. That becomes even more dangerous if you’re buying Percocet in doses where you’d normally take more pills, because you have no idea of just one pill is enough to cause an overdose, let alone two or three.

It’s also a risk if you go to the hospital. If you tell hospital staff that you’ve been taking something like Vicodin, you’ll normally receive a single dose of Narcan, the overdose prevention drug. A single dose is enough to reverse an overdose for most pain pills. However, most fentanyl requires up to three doses to reverse the overdose, followed by longer term medical care because the drug lasts longer than the overdose prevention. Most Naloxone products are sold in doses of two, which means that if you’re using on your own, you’ll need two packs of Naloxone per person to use “safely”.

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Checking Your Pills

If you’re taking opioid prescription pain pills without a prescription, it’s important to do so safely. The best and only real safety measure is to take your drugs to a testing lab. Here, you can have your drugs tested to see if the contents are what you think they are, what the dosing is, and if there are any contaminates you should be aware of.

These services are often free or low cost. For example DanceSafe is a nonprofit center offering drug checking strips, so you can check for fentanyl and other contaminates in your home. The organization also has a lab, which you can sometimes use. In addition, DanceSafe sometimes has labs set up at events – which means you can always look for them if you live in an urban area. There are other organizations offering similar services, but DanceSafe is the only nonprofit drug checking company in the United States.

A drug test kit also isn’t a greenlight on your drugs. Instead, these kits look for red flags such as fentanyl or known contaminates. The DanceSafe kit looks for 100 different substances. It means it’s less likely that you’re taking fake opioids. However, you’ll need an actual lab test to see what your drugs actually are and if they are completely safe.

If you can’t order a test kit before you intend to take your pills, you can also try comparing your drugs to something you know is the real thing. That means having a package of the real thing on hand. For example, a friend might have a prescription which you can compare.

This means:

Comparing the packaging and looking for any differences
Looking at pill size and color and seeing if they are the same
Checking the listed dosage amount
Looking for irregularities in pill size, color, or contents
Breaking pills and seeing if they’re the same color inside

Prescription pills are always uniform in size, color, and contents. There are no irregularities from one to the next. Packaging is always sealed and always lists the dosage, the contents, and the brand. If not all of that is present, chances are, you’re taking fake pills.

However, fake opioids can be extremely convincing. It may be difficult to impossible to tell the real thing from the fake without a lab. So comparing your pills to the real thing isn’t a foolproof way of ensuring you’re taking “safe” pills. The only way to ensure you’re not taking fake pills is to have them lab tested or to buy them from a pharmacy.

Getting Help

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, it’s important to get help. That includes if you’re taking pills which you know could endanger you. Knowingly risking your life to get high is not a symptom of mental health or everything being okay. Often, it means you need mental health treatment and therapy – even if you’re not struggling with substance abuse problems or addiction.

Pain pills are popular, affordable, and are often considered safe. As a result, millions of Americans use them recreationally. Unfortunately, that’s becoming more and more dangerous as fake pills become more common. Today, there are millions of fake pain pills seized by the DEA every year. And, some 60% of those contain potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. Often, there’s no easy way to tell fake pills from the real thing. However, you can look for lab testing if you will use those pills anyway. The best option is to stay safe, don’t use pills, and ask for help if you can’t stop using on your own.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our alcohol rehab, detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

Celebrity Drug Deaths 2022

Most of us are well-aware of the lifestyles of the rich and famous and they glamorize drugs and alcohol. Yet, even people with wealth and access to the best medical care in the world suffer because of drug and alcohol abuse. While the numbers are unknown, celebrities struggle with drug addiction, mental health problems, and physical health problems as a result of substance abuse.

And, every year, with 99,017 people dying of alcohol-related causes, and in 2022, nearly 110,000 people died of drug-related causes including overdose. Celebrities are not immune, and in 2022, 5 well-known celebrities died as a result of drug abuse.

These tragedies are a stark reminder that even people with access to the safest drugs and the best medical care suffer as a result of drug abuse. And, if you or a loved one is using, it’s important to get help when you can and before it’s too late.

Celebrity Drug Deaths in 2022

In 2022, five well-known celebrities died of drug-related causes, most of which were fentanyl related. However, this list only includes individuals whose autopsy reports were publicized. This means there may be additional drug deaths which are not listed here – but their families have chosen to opt for privacy. There were also 5 celebrity deaths in 2021, 5 in 2020, and 3 in 2019.

Taylor Hawkins

Foo Fighter’s Drummer Taylor Hawkins was announced dead on March 25^th of 2022. An ambulance was called at his hotel after he complained of chest pains, but by the time emergency services arrived, Hawkins was unresponsive.

The toxicology report later revealed that Hawkins had taken a large number of prescription medications as well as THC. These included opioid pain pills, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. His heart was also twice the expected size, following what doctors expressed as prolonged substance abuse. It is unknown if Hawkins had a prescription for his medications or not.

Hawkins died at the age of 50, leaving behind his wife and three children. His death rocked the music and entertainment industry, resulting in an outpouring of love, with memorials and tribute concerts in his honor.

Dwayne Haskins

Dwayne Haskins, NFL Quarterback, died on April 9 of 2022, pronounced dead after being hit by a car while crossing a road under the influence. Haskins was driving to training in a rented vehicle when he ran out of gas. He stopped by the side of the road, called his wife, and then crossed the interstate where he was struck by a dump truck and died. His blood alcohol level at the time was .24 and he tested positive for ketamine. Haskins did not die as a direct result of drug use and drugs may not have contributed to his death. However, Haskins tragic death was under the influence and his crossing the interstate may have been influenced by ketamine usage.

Jamal Edwards

Jamal Edwards, DJ and television platform owner, died in February of 2022 after a heart arrythmia. His sudden death was first reported as a heart attack – but toxicology reports later found that he had ingested significant quantities of cocaine prior to the arrythmia. His tragic death occurred in the middle of a project to reopen youth centers in London, using his platform of SB.TV and funding from Google to help kids turn to music and performance instead of drugs.

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Coolio

Artis Leon Ivey Jr., artistically known as Coolio, died on September 28 of 2022, following an overdose on fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. The artist was found in a friend’s home in Los Angeles, on the bathroom door and was pronounced dead by the first responders. An investigation was opened, later showing the cause of death to be an overdose. The artist is most well-known for his single “Gangsta’s Paradise” but was in the middle of recording a new album at the time of his death.

Aaron Carter

Aaron Carter, singer and teen-pop star, died in November of 2022 following an overdose and accidental drowning in his tub in Lancaster California. The 34-year-old was found by his housekeeper in the tub. It was later found that the singer had passed out after inhaling difluoroethane, an inhalant drug used for aerosols, and taking alprazolam, which he may have had a prescription for. His death was ruled as accidental – as he liked passed out because of the difluoroethane.

Stephan Bonnar

American mixed martial artist Stephan Bonnar is most well-known for his UFC fights and wrestling. The wrestler died on December 22 of 2022. It was initially reported that he had died of a heart attack. However, the toxicology report showed that the 45-year-old had died of a fentanyl overdose. This followed multiple run-ins with the law including several DUIs. He left behind his wife and son.

Getting Help

Anyone can be vulnerable to drug addiction. It doesn’t matter how well your life is going, drugs are addictive and can cause you to lose control when using them. That puts you at risk of mental health problems, physical health problems, and overdose. Like the celebrities on this list, you are always at risk of overdose and death when using drugs. Even “Safer” drugs like cocaine and ketamine can result in heart attacks, decision-making that leads to death, and organ damage that can cause significant long-term reductions to quality of life. And, with street drugs including pain pills and Xanax now containing traces of fentanyl, risks of overdose are higher than ever.

If you or someone you know is using drugs or alcohol, you are at risk of overdose. People often use to feel better, self-medicate, and to fit in. No matter what you’re using for, you can still lose control and you are still at risk. If you need help, it is there, and modern rehab and substance use disorder treatment works to help you uncover the underlying causes behind substance abuse so you can improve quality of life, improve how you cope with things, and work to build skills and strategies to make your life better. The goal of recovery is not to get your old life back but to build a new one where you don’t need drugs.

If you or your loved-one struggles from alcoholism or other substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. 10 Acre Ranch also has specialty tracks like our pet friendly drug rehab and couples substance abuse treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.

What Are the Most Addictive Prescription Medications?

More than 1/3^rd of Americans, or 66% of all adults, or 131 million people, take at least one prescription medication. Americans spend some $73 billion on prescription drugs annually, and that’s often with the expectation that those drugs will improve our health, reduce symptoms, and improve our quality of life. Unfortunately for many, prescription drugs don’t work the same for everyone and many can be habit forming and addictive. In fact, while awareness of the addictive potential of pain pills and opioids is on the rise, prescription opioid usage is still one of the leading causes of moving on to street drugs like heroin.

If you or a loved one is being prescribed a medication, you don’t have to worry. Talk to your doctor, request a Risk Evaluation and Management Strategy (REMS), and go in for your checkups. As long as you use the prescription medication as directed, you shouldn’t have problems with the drug. However, it’s important to have those discussions, to understand your risks, and to understand how prescription drugs can impact your health and your mental health.

Many drugs can be habit forming or dependence inducing, meaning they are “addictive”. However, the following are the most addictive prescription medications.

Opioids

Opioids are the most well-known class of prescription painkillers. These drugs all work in similar ways, by binding to the opiate receptors in the brain. In small doses, they can reduce your perception of pain and create a calming or sedative effect. In high doses, they can create euphoria and intense highs that can be extremely addictive.

For many people, opioids are the most addictive drug. In fact, fentanyl, an extremely strong opioid, is one of the most addictive in the world, and also takes part in some 70% of all opioid overdoses.

Common opioids include:

Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet)
Codeine
Fentanyl
Meperidine (Demerol)

Each of these drugs has different properties and strengths. However, all of them work in the same way. All of them also cause euphoria when taking large doses. And, people abusing these drugs normally start to show long-term cold and flu symptoms, stomach problems, lethargy or drops in energy, and increased “seeking behavior”. Here, individuals think about, use, or spend time acquiring drugs for a significant portion of their day, their behavior changes, and they may prioritize drugs over anything else.

Once someone is physically dependent on an opioid medication, getting off of it will require a withdrawal phase. That can mean up to 2 weeks of severe cold and flu symptoms, anxiety, and depression, which can interfere with normal life and responsibilities. For this reason, many people using pain pills end up continuing to use them to avoid withdrawal symptoms, despite no longer needing them for pain management.

However, if you receive an opioid medication, you’ll likely only have it for a few weeks. Doctors are increasingly aware of the dangers of opioid addiction and will therefore normally take large steps to ensure you are safe while you receive your prescription.

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Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines are a class of central nervous system suppressants used to treat anxiety, panic attacks, and the symptoms of PTSD. Previously, they were also used for sleep issues. Today, some 30.5 million people have a prescription or use benzos illicitly. However, 17.1% of all people with a benzodiazepine prescription misuse them and a further 2% qualify as having a drug use disorder.

Benzodiazepines include:

Diazepam (Valium)
Lorazepam (Ativan)
Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Alprazolam (Xanax)
Midazolam (Versed)

Today, most doctors won’t prescribe these drugs without a co-occurring therapy requirement. It’s also unlikely that you’ll receive a prescription for longer than 5 weeks. However, many people have had benzodiazepine prescriptions for years.

Unfortunately, these drugs are highly addictive and can cause significant psychological reliance, where users might work themselves into panic attacks because they don’t have the drug in case something goes wrong.

In addition, many people experience significant withdrawal symptoms while trying to quit benzos. Often, the only safe way to get off of them is to slowly taper usage over the course of a few weeks or months. If you go cold turkey on a benzodiazepine, chances of severe symptoms like seizures are high. For this reason, it’s not recommended to quit benzodiazepines without medical supervision,

Sedatives

Sedatives or prescription sleeping pills include several classes of drugs but most of them have similar effects and a similar addiction profile. Often, these drugs are prescribed for the short term, alongside a REMS, and alongside therapy that is intended to resolve the root of the problem rather than symptoms. However, some people have been on sleeping pill prescriptions for decades. Today, we know that these drugs are addictive and dependence inducing. But, if you’ve been on one for some time, chances of dependence and possible addiction are high.

Common sleeping pills include:

Zolpidem (Ambien, Zolpimist, Edluar)
Zaleplon (Sonata)
Triazolam (Halcion)
Temazepam (Restoril)
Ramelteon (Rozerem)
Eszopiclone (Lunesta)
Doxepin (Silenor)

All of these drugs are dependence inducing. In addition, like benzos, you should not stop most of these drugs cold turkey. Instead, they should be tapered off to avoid causing major symptoms such as seizures and major paranoia. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to consult with a doctor before quitting a sleeping medication or sedative.

Amphetamines

Amphetamines are most-famous for street drugs like methamphetamine. However, they also make up a large selection of prescription medications including ADD and ADHD treatments like Ritalin, Concerta, and Adderall.

Adderall (Myadayis)
Methylphenidate (Concerta, Ritalin)

However, these amphetamines are rarely severely habit forming. Instead, most people will never have problems. At the same time, heavy abuse, especially in combination with other drugs or alcohol, can cause significant.

Getting Help

If you or a loved one is struggling with a prescription medicine, there is help. The first step should normally be to go to your doctor, who can offer insight into your prescription use, where it went wrong, and what the next steps should be. Depending on your specific case, you may benefit from therapy, tapering off the drug, or rehab and drug abuse treatment. However, in most cases, if you’re compulsively using a drug, you’ll need therapy and treatment to help you resolve the underlying causes – or your risk of relapse or changing to a different drug will remain high.

Prescription medications can be dangerous. However, they can also be lifesaving. Following the prescription, avoiding mixing drugs, and stopping drug usage when you no longer need it can all help you to stay safe when using prescription medication. However, you should always discuss your plans and their safety with your doctor before changing how you use or take a prescription medication.

If you or your loved-one struggles from substance abuse please contact us today and speak with one of our experienced and professional intake advisors about our detox, partial hospitalization, and residential treatment programs. We’re here to help you recover.