Column #109

The prescription opioid crisis is the talk of the town these days. But how can it be? The first gatekeepers for prescription drugs are medical doctors. Second are pharmacies.

Addiction is a complex chronic disease. Half of the likelihood for addiction is based on genetics which are impacted by environmental factors, individual resilience acquired through parenting or later life experiences, and surrounding culture.

Other factors include:
   ●   Repeated engagement;
   ●   Self-deception;
   ●   Disruption of healthy social supports and problems;
   ●   Exposure to trauma or stressors;
   ●   Distortion in values; and
   ●   Distortions in a connection with self.

Addictions run the gamut and include food, gambling, drugs, alcohol, exercise, games, smoking, cell phones, and more. If all forms of addiction are taken into account maybe everyone has one or more addictions.

It’s estimated that over 20 million Americans have a substance abuse addiction. About 80% of them have an alcohol addiction resulting in 88,000 related deaths annually. For many addicts there is an overlap between alcohol and drugs. Yet even with far fewer addicts, the number of deaths per year from overdoses of illicit drugs and prescription opioids is about 65,000. But this is small potatoes.

There’s an old saying that “Whomever controls the narrative controls the world.” Well then it’s no wonder there’s substance abuse problems. Do you realize that up to 70% of all Americans get at least one prescription for drugs annually! Advertisements promoting drugs as the ultimate cure-alls are ubiquitous in our society. Doctors prescribe them like candy. So, if we’re concerned about addictions to prescription opioids, we must look directly at the medical community.

What the medical community does with prescription opioids pales in comparison with what else it hands out. It writes four billion prescriptions a year and the mistakes result in 130,000 deaths! So not only is the medical community the gateway for addictive opioids, but its use of drugs borders on reckless.

Addiction is a disease. Imprisoning addicts certainly doesn’t work. Yet rather than treat, our medical community is part of the problem rather than the solution. Curing addictions is not easy, but when its addressed as a disease rather than a personality fault, that’s a huge step in the right direction. As it is now, only 10% of all addicts receive treatment. Yet all of them are exposed to advertisements and, by routinely visiting their doctors, the medical communities encouragement and complicity to take more drugs.

The medical community also controls the narrative regarding chronic diseases and food. It calls nutrition-oriented people like me charlatans if we report that some chronic diseases can be subdued with a proper diet. In doing so the medical community almost totally ignores the peer-reviewed studies written by scientists in nutrition and biology that we quote. Why? Because the medical profession makes most of its income prescribing drugs and performing operations. That’s why it promotes laws that silence anyone who suggests a chronic disease can be cured by diet.

In spite of all this, the medical community ranks as one of the most trusted institutions in America. Why?

Maybe it’s because the medical community is the consumer’s source for their drugs of choice.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

Don’t miss these links for additional reading:

The Truth about Prescription Drugs » Opioids and Morphine Derivatives

What is the scope of prescription drug misuse?

Death By Prescription from U.S. News and World Report

Definition of Addiction from American Society of Addiction Medicine

Drug Overdose Death Rates from DrugAbuse.gov

Statistics of Addiction in America

Americans’ Confidence in Institutions Stays Low by Gallup Poll