Of all of the legal and illicit substances in the United States, it is no surprise that we as a country leads the world in drug abuse. With Mexican drug smugglers and local “mom and pop” manufactuers in the country, we as a society are bombared with drug abuse. Vicodin addiction, as well as other opiate based prescription drugs, are one of the largest problems that we have flooding the drug market. In fact the Drug Enforcement Agency suspects vicodon (a hydrocodone) to be one of the largest of the abused prescreiption drugs in the nation.

One of the saddest facts about the drug is that, in the last ten years, abuse has skyrocketed 500% stateside. It is similar to a drug such as heroin or morphine, and it produces a calm that many people have “enjoyed” for the sake of abuse. This makes addiction to the drug very easy for some to fall into, as they generally do not think about the dangerous properties of the drug during their euphoric episodes. What makes matters worse is that this narcotic is not as controlled and regulated as the others are, making it easily accessible in most cases. With all of these characteristics, it is no wonder why many people have been finding this to be one of the easiest drugs to become addicted to.

Vicodin addiction is not just troubling to one demographic either. For people with anxiety problems, such as the stressed out businessman, to the high school kid who wants to have a good time. Both of these types of people are at risk for addiction, and whether it is just for experimental use or a legitimate medical use, the risk of addiction is one that a person should take very seriously. Since the year 2000, there were an estimated 69 acitve Vicodin prescriptions available. And because of its opiate related effects, it is safe to assume that many of these people were using them for non-medical reasons. And in that same year, there were over 20,000 cases of hydrocodone measured in hospital system throughout the United States. This makes education about the dangers of Vicodin very important, as there will continually be more if there are not measures established to better curb the misuse of the drug.

The effects of Vicodin addiction on society is definitely one of the largest growing epidemics facing the United States. Luckily, there are many drug treatment programs across the nation that can combat the effects of this addictive drug. It is of utmost importance for those people suffering from the disease of addiction to receive the help that they need immediately. Since this is a drug with opiod effects, it is in everyone’s best interest to get help as soon as they can. This class of drug, a Schedule II drug, is one known to become more and more addictive as time wears on.

With more than 11,000 treatment centers available for people, there is no reason why anyone should suffer from something as powerful as Vicodin addiction.