b'Drug access is facilitated by covert10 generations of Americans facingNow imagine doing this to the brain, cartel trafficking of illicit opioids likesimilar cyclic trends couldnt deliverdose after dose, hour after hour, day fentanyl through practices of what hasan answer: Can we truly control theafter day. Whats the outcome? become a highly coordinated businessdrugs without them controlling us? Well, lets compare this scenario enterprise. Many have claimed that itsThe answers are buried in our past,to that of a professional athlete. Many now easier to access fentanyl than ahidden in our biology, masked bycompetitors in training target a heart pack of cigarettes. The Drug Enforce- our psychology, and misunderstoodrate thats 7080 percent of their max-ment Agency warns that 60 percent ofsociologically. imum rate achievable. What would seized fentanyl pills contain enoughLets start by exploring the brain.happen they increased their heart rate drug to potentially kill an adult withNormally, our bodies produce theirby 1,000 percent? Ask the morgue. a single use. With a life being claimedown opioids called endorphins.No organ in the body is made to every six minutes, epidemiologistsEndorphins are naturally releasedhandle extremesespecially to this have confirmed that the opioid crisis isfrom cells during pleasurable activi- degree. Lucky for us, instead of shut-reducing the American life expectancyties such as hugging our kids orting down, our brain remarkablyincluding that of our children.eating ice cream. They also surgeadapts. Initially there is a rewiring Another two souls will be gone byduring injuries to help tame the nerv- of brain centers that handle emotional the time you finish this article. ous system signals that otherwiseprocessing, decision-making, reward, If overdose deaths werent enoughmight implore the host to gnaw offand memory; all these start to change to sound alarms, consider our addic- a limb for relief. When endorphinsthrough a process called neuroplastic-tion rates. The American Medicalbind in certain centers of the brain,ity. As a result, connections between Association estimates that betweenthey lead to release of the pleasuredistinct parts of the brain are altered Trapped in a body that cant function without the drug and imprisoned by a mind that wont let them outthere is no darker place.3 and 19 percent of individuals whochemical dopamine which hasand communication conduits equiva-ever touch an opioidincludingrewarding, reinforcing effects. Drugslent to dirt roads and bike paths those prescribed legitimately of abuse hijack this pathway. Opioidsquickly transition to six-lane freeways. will develop dependency. And withlike morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl,This results in faster urges, less inhibi-roughly one in every three adultsand hydromorphone (Dilaudid)tion, more paranoia, and an inability historically receiving an opioid pre- enter the brain and, in some popula- to make rational decisions. scription every one to two years, drugtions, result in the release ofAs use becomes chronic, the brain complications are endemic. Nearly 30profound amounts of dopamine, wellreceptors responsible for taking in all percent of Americans say that they orbeyond what our bodies normallythe dopamine and processing the sig-a direct family member struggles withproduce. We call it a high. In ratnals of the high begin to burn out. This opioid addiction, and these numbersmodels, opioids have been shown tois where addiction starts to take a turn jump dramatically in rural areas. Thedrive up dopamine levels 400 percentsouth. With fewer receptors available crisis is enough to give us pause andfrom baseline; methamphetaminesto bind to the dopamine, the compara-ask the question for which the lastcan top more than 1,000 percent.tively small amounts of dopamine 28 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024'