Stephen R. Sroka
Western Reserve University, USA
Title: Relationships-The Power of One to Make a Difference
Biography
Biography: Stephen R. Sroka
Abstract
The U. S. Attorney General has called the rise in overdose deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers an “urgent public health crisis.†According to the CDC, one in five high school students has taken prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription. And heroin abusers often report that their foray into heroin began with prescription drug abuse. Despite what people think, heroin is an equal opportunity destroyer. Addiction to heroin and other opiates (such as oxycodone, Oxycotin, Percocet and Vicodin) impacts Americans in urban cities, the suburbs and rural areas in every state. Heroin overdose deaths quadrupled from 2002 to 2013 in the US. Many people hold a misconception that drug dependence is a voluntary behavior and moral failure. However, addiction is actually a complex medical issue, not a moral issue. In fact, addiction is a brain disease that can be diagnosed and treated, and treatment makes a difference.