1. OTC and Prescription Drug Abuse Slideshow Pictures
2. Health Risks of Alcohol Abuse Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Mark Zwanger, MD, MBA

Medical Editor:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

View Full Profile

There is somewhat of a continuum between opioid abuse, opioid dependence, and addiction. Individuals who use narcotics to the extent that they start to interfere with the person's ability to do routine activities or fulfill regular responsibilities at home, at school, or at work would be considered to be abusing opioids. Other signs that individuals are abusing opioids include maladaptive behaviors that impact adversely on relationships, worsening of interpersonal problems, or frequent involvement with legal problems related to opioid use.

Individuals who have opioid dependence often will manifest some of the following symptoms.

• Ingestion of larger and larger amounts of opioids or for longer periods of time than intended
• Desire or compulsion to take the drug with significant amount of time spent trying to obtain opioids
• Withdrawal symptoms if the drug is stopped or the amount taken is reduced
• The need for increased amounts of drug to achieve the original effects (tolerance)
• Social, recreational, occupational, or pleasurable activities are neglected
• Persistent use of narcotics even when evidence that is harmful to their body, mood, thinking, or actions
• Addiction is elevated narcotic abuse that becomes a craving, with compulsive need to use opioids and often self-destructive behavior

Must Read Articles Related to Narcotic Abuse

Addiction Addiction is possible whenever ingesting a substance causes the basic pleasure and reward circuits in the brain to activate. Addiction is an illness that requir...learn more >>

See the Entire Narcotic Abuse Topic Guide »