Final answer:
High addiction rates are seen in drugs like Heroin, Fentanyl, and prescription opioids such as Oxycodone and Vicodin. The surge in opioid prescriptions in the 1990s and subsequent regulation changes led to increased addiction and a turn to cheaper, illicit drugs, fueling the opioid epidemic and increase in overdose deaths.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the High Addiction Rates of Certain Drugs:
Some drugs have notably high addiction rates, often as high as 50% to 60%. These include opiate drugs such as Heroin, Fentanyl, Morphine, Oxycodone, and Vicodin among other prescription pain relievers. The opioid epidemic in the United States has impacted all demographics, with a significant portion of misuse starting from legitimate medical prescriptions.
The addiction rates soared due to an increase in prescriptions from about 76 million in 1991 to 219 million in 2011, creating greater availability and potential for misuse. Alongside this, the shortage and increased cost of prescription opioids led many people to turn to heroin or synthetics like Fentanyl, which are cheaper but much more potent and dangerous. This shift has resulted in a drastic increase in overdose deaths, illustrating the severity of the opioid epidemic.
The crisis is further exacerbated by the physiological nature of opioids; the body can become addicted in less than a week, even when taken as prescribed. Subsequently, when efforts to curb prescription led to a scarcity, patients turned to illicit markets. Heroin, often laced with synthetic opioids, became a go-to alternative, due to easy accessibility and lower prices. The result has been a tragic rise in overdose deaths, making it one of the worst drug crises in American history.