After a highly publicized bout with addiction, most people
who knew Garrett said he was a highly motivated individual who appeared to have
overcome the challenges of his past. The
problem with addiction, however, is it can not be cured;
rather, the addiction becomes a disease in remission.
According to the American Society of Addiction Medicine,
addiction, like other chronic diseases, often involves cycles of relapse and
remission. I work with a lot of families who have lost loved ones to drug
overdoses. Many of these families say their loved one appeared to be doing well
prior to the overdose. Unfortunately, that’s often the case.
Most opiate overdoses occur after periods of abstinence or
sobriety. An opiate addict develops a tolerance to the drug quite rapidly, thus
necessitating more or a stronger dosage of the drug to achieve the same effect.
Opiate addicts typically enter treatment on such a high dose – and with such a
high tolerance – of the drug that it would most likely be fatal to an
individual who was not addicted.
As addicts recover, their opiate tolerance decreases. If a
person relapses, he or she is likely to consume the same dose that individual
had become accustomed to before sobriety. Because this person had abstained
from opiate use and has little to no tolerance to the drug, relapses often
result in overdoses.
Addiction is a devastating public health issue, whether it
impacts the son of a professional football coach or a complete stranger.
Unfortunately, it usually takes the death of a public figure to shine light on
the devastating toll that addiction takes on society.
Tom Allen
Executive Director
Summit Behavioral Health
Executive Director
Summit Behavioral Health
