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Addiction and Overdose: Confronting an American Crisis

Deaths from drug overdoses have gone up a staggering amount since 2000. Opiates are natural forms of painkilling drugs (such as morphine, heroin, and codeine) derived from the opium poppy. Opioids are synthetic opiates that include the generic medications hydrocodone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl. The terms are often used interchangeably. Nurse, medical writer, and public health expert Connie Goldsmith investigates the neurology of addiction, the environmental triggers of addiction and overdose, the complexities of getting and staying sober, and efforts to educate medical professionals and patients about the risks of opioid painkillers. Along the way, readers meet a range of medical professionals, experts in the field, former addicts, and family members who have lost loved ones to overdose