The Dangers of Opiate use for recreation

While I was doing Intensive Outpatient Treatment with incarcerated women, the primary drug changed over the eight years that the women were becoming addicted to and arrested for from methamphetamine or cocaine to Oxycontin. These women were doing what everyone else in their community was doing, using pain pills to block the pain of life.  Not enough jobs, abusive relationships, etc.  They were also just partying with it.  The brain doesn't care why you do it, just how much and how often.  The why comes into play when trying to stop.  STOP now.  Oxy is VERY addictive.  You can become physically dependent on it quickly, even when taking it as prescribed.  Just because a medication is prescribed by doctors does not make it more safe.  If you begin to mess with your brain chemistry, you will not experience the same joy from natural experiences.  Life will become gray and lifeless without a chemical in your system.  Also, your brain is not through developing until age 26.  Use before that time can cause irreversible damage to the brain.  Check out Dr. Daniel Amen's research at www.amenclinic.com.