How is pain killer addiction different from other types of drug addiction?
The short answer is that it’s not: Pain killer addiction is no different from other types of drug addiction. As noted above, prescription drugs like morphine, codeine, and oxycodone belong to the same family of substances as heroin; they have a comparable effect on the body, and are comparably compelling for anyone addicted to them. It’s important to note here that pain killer addiction, like other types of drug addiction, is at its core a clinical disease. Again, pain killer addicts aren’t deviant, or defective; they’re sick, the same way patients with liver disease are sick. Pain killer addiction is not a result of faulty morality or personal shortcomings. Pain killer addicts don’t choose to be pain killer addicts. And pain killer addicts can’t simply choose to get over their addictions, in the same way that patients with liver disease can’t simply choose to heal their livers. The truth is quite the opposite, actually: Pain killer addicts and victims of liver disease both need qualif
