Hydrocodone Addiction

In this Article:
Hydrocodone Addiction
Hydrocodone Symptoms
Hydrocodone Withdrawal
Hydrocodone Treatment
Hydrocodone Addiction Forum

Hydrocodone is an opioid (specifically derived from codeine and thebaine) that leaves users with a euphoric feeling and sense of come. These feelings, found in other opioid derived substances like, morphine and heroin has allowed hydrocodone addiction to run rampant amongst the nearly 40% of Americans, prescribed some form of the this narcotic in the last year.

Those who have fallen into a hydrocodone addiction find it easy to acquire the drug since it is widely prescribed and in large circulation. Some hydrocodone addicts acquire the drug by way of forged prescriptions, thievery, over-prescribing, and "doctor shopping." Although addiction to hydrocodone can take up to 4 weeks, this can create an effect of complacency on the part of the user and this is where the insidious nature hydrocodone comes from.

Addiction researchers and historians may look back on the turn of the 21st century as the approximate time when painkiller abuse went mainstream, in particular, abuse of the narcotic painkiller hydrocodone in the form of Vicodin.

Hydrocodone Addiction has been linked to Eminem (who reportedly bore a Vicodin tattoo), Brett Favre, Matthew Perry, and other celebrities. When at the 2001 Golden Globes, David Spade joked of finding some in his gift basket, Vicodin seemed to have entered the cultural vernacular in the US as a by-word for all abused prescription pain medication.

Hydrocodone Addiction in the US

In 2006, almost 130 million prescriptions were written for medications containing hydrocodone in the US, making it the nation’s most frequently prescribed opiate. Not surprisingly, it is also the country’s most commonly diverted and abused pharmaceutical, and its abuse has consistently been on the rise .

Combination products containing no more than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone are listed by the Drug Enforcement Agency as schedule III controlled substances (although the DEA is currently considering moving them up into the far more tightly controlled schedule II listing). There are literally hundreds of such combination products under numerous brands and generics on the market, but the most recognizable ones are probably Vicodin, Lortab, Lorcet, and Norco.

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