Opium Eater: The New Confessions

by Carlyn Zwarenstein

Study after study points to galloping use of opioids—particularly in North America and Australia—to treat a wide range of afflictions. This surge is often reported in the news inaccurately, incompletely, and with breathless alarm. It’s “a problem.” It’s “a rash.” It’s “a flood.” It’s “an epidemic.” The “painkillers are killing us.” But the headlines are hyperbole mixed with truth. What is true is that more people are now becoming addicted to prescribed opioids, whether their own or someone else’s; more people are seeking treatment for physical dependency (different from addiction) as well as actual addiction; and more people are dying of overdoses of prescription opioids. Some fifteen million people worldwide are dependent on opiates. An increasing number of these use prescription opioids.