Chasing the Pain
Opioids, which are categorized as narcotics, are a group of pain-relieving drugs. Opioids are used legally (through a prescription from a physician) and illegally (without medical permission). Opioids are found naturally and made synthetically by pharmaceutical companies. These highly addictive drugs efficiently reduce or numb pain but also create an intense high. The easy access and high addiction risk have caused America to be experiencing an opioid epidemic that began in the late 1990s. This epidemic has taken almost a million lives in the United States alone. The following chapters discuss opioids and their impacts.
