Opium is the substance that all opiate drugs derive from. Aside from marijuana, opiate drugs are the most commonly abused illegal substances, and are the most addictive drugs. There are numerous consequences that a person who abuses opiates will experience, but there are five consequences that are the most common to occur.
Addiction
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, addiction is a chronic and often relapsing disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use, regardless of the harmful consequences to the person using the drugs and to other people around them.
If a person develops an addiction to an opium based drug, they will feel the uncontrollable need to continually use the drug. This will lead to constant drug abuse and will lead to behavioral changes. People addicted to opium based drugs commonly lose their jobs, their friends, and their money, due to the drug’s control over their life. In addition, addiction often leads to dependency.
Dependency
Abuse of opium can cause addiction and significant related issues.
Opium abuse commonly leads to dependency. If a person takes an opium based drug for a long period of time, or on a frequent basis, their body will begin to get used to the drug being in it. Over time, the body will begin to become dependent on the drug, and if the drug is not in the user’s system, then they will go through withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms from opium are painful and most people require the need of treatment to get through them.
Withdrawal Symptoms
Dependency to opium will cause a person to go through a variety of withdrawal symptoms, some of which can be extremely painful and dangerous. Common withdrawals from opium based drugs include anxiety, insomnia, fevers, headaches, muscle aches, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and cold sweats.
Furthermore, a person will begin to go through withdrawal symptoms, even if they have the drug in their system, but not enough of it. Over time since a person needs more and more of the drug to get the desired high they want, their body will continue to build a tolerance to the drug, which means that they will need more and more of the drug to avoid withdrawals. This can become very expensive.
Financial Loss
Due to dependency, addiction, and tolerance, the need for opium will become a main priority for a person abusing opium. This will reflect in their finances. In order to maintain their high and avoid withdrawals a person will continually need to purchase the drug, which will result in them losing a lot of money.
Criminal Activity
Since many people cannot afford to continue to support their opium abuse problem, or they lose their job because of it, they resort to criminal activities to get the drugs they want. In many cases, people will steal items or money from their friends and family to pay for drugs, or they may begin to rob people. These actions can lead to a person being arrested and doing jail time because of their opium abuse.
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