In any public health or policy issue, it is important to consider the language used to discuss the people affected. The nation’s prolonged opioid crisis continues to touch many communities and families, and the way in which experts and others talk about substance use disorders, their causes, and the solutions is evolving.
Gremminger has provided guidance to help prevent a relapse of people overcoming a substance use disorder during the coronavirus outbreak. Here are his five daily tips to help those in early addiction recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they can navigate these times and become stronger.
As the country went into quarantine in March, many of Joseph DeSanto's opioid-addicted patients in Orange County, Calif., told him their supply was drying up, because drug dealers in the area were worried about a border shutdown, and were retreating to their hometowns in Mexico. But within days or weeks, many of his patients had found new sources of heroin and pain pills, with dangerous results.
If you smoke marijuana, or vape e-cigarettes, you could end up with the kind of damage to your lungs and airways that could put you at risk of real harm from COVID-19, medical experts said.
Confined to our homes with little else to do, it is tempting to turn to the bottle for entertainment, but rather than making us feel better, it may be doing us harm.
