Mark----What I was referring to is that in law enforcement, if a person is considered an "addict" it means to us that it's his/her wish to do the drugs. To be "dependent" means that they are those people that have become addicted (dependent ) on the drugs due to being over-prescribed by their physician. It's semantics, I know, but when a person is arrested for whatever reason and they are suspected of being high, we check to see if we can find any needle marks or we may just ask them if they have any drugs on them on in them. Either way, if they are acting suspicious as though they may be high or not sober, we will request that they take a BAC test. If they have committed any crime or have proven to be not in stable condition, we can order them to take a BAC test without first obtaining a warrant.
I really do understand your situation as I have encountered others in a likewise situation. It's not unfamiliar to me. Drugs and alcohol have both become a serious problem here in the U.S. Going into detox may get it out of their system, but it does not make them pure again. They are still addicted or dependent on the drug, including alcohol. During detox, a person is slowly weaned off of their drug by using one of the synthetics that are available. After they have been cleaned, they are still addicted or dependent and may need additional hospitalization; inpatient or outpatient to continue their journey to becoming non-dependent. Getting rid of the cravings through therapy in a rehab facility generally works for most patients. Staying clean is a battle of its own. Many people like the feeling that they had while on their drug, including alcohol, so much too often, the patient will relapse and the process has to start all over again.
There are three classes of drugs that are most often over-used, Opiates, Benzodiazepines (Xanax) and Alcohol. People taking the drug Tramadol are less likely to become addicted. It's a very low dose synthetic that provides some relief from pain. However, Tramadol does not work for everyone, so they turn to a more potent narcotic. Getting this stuff off the street is almost impossible. The war on drugs was lost a long time ago. I think Heroin, Fentanyl and Dilaudid are the more popular opiates among addicts. They also have a high street value, but since there is so much Heroin available out there on the streets, the price has rapidly decreased and has become affordable like never before.
I went back and reread your post and I think you are still confusing addiction with dependency. Anyway, I remember back when I first became a Trooper and the drug Codeine had become very popular, even to the point that years later, the drug had to be prescribed. Lower doses could be found in some cough medicines, but higher doses needed a prescription. One night while on patrol, I came upon a car parked too far away from the curb in a small town on my route. After I walked up to the window, I saw a man slumped back over his seat. I quickly opened the door and got him outside and on the ground. Once I was sure that he was going to be OK, I looked inside of his car and on the front seat, I found a bottle of Tylenol with Codeine. I looked at the bottle's label and read that a dentist had prescribed the pills. I called for an ambulance and had him transported to a hospital. In the morning, I went back and asked him some questions, but I really wanted to know how many pills he had taken and for what. he said that he had three teeth pulled just a week earlier and his dentist game him a script for 50 pills. He said they made him feel so good that he just kept taking them.
I know many people that are dependent on Opiates are linked together or stereotyped with street addicts. And, like you already stated, this is one of the reasons that they give as to why they do not seek help. However, that's not necessarily true. If they would go to a rehab and explain to the admitting person, who usually has a vast amount of experience in these matters, and advises them of how they became dependent or addicted to the drugs, they will find that all too often these people are understanding and will help them. Like I already have stated, we lost the war in drugs a long time ago.
