Frequently Asked Questions

Opioids bind to specific receptors in the brain that reduce the transmission of pain signals throughout the body. Opioids include:

• Heroin
• Prescription pain medications like:
  • Hydrocodone (Vicodin)
  • Hydromorphone (Dilaudid)
  • Meperidine (Demerol)
  • Morphine (MS Contin)
  • Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet)
  • Codeine
  • Fentanyl
  • Methadone

Xylazine is not opioid, but is increasingly being found in the U.S. illicit drug supply and linked to overdose deaths. What You Should Know About Xylazine.

When there is too much opioid in the body, a person can lose consciousness and stop breathing – this is an overdose. An opioid overdose can happen suddenly or come on slowly over a few hours. Without oxygen, a person can die.

Risks for an opioid overdose include:

• Using opioids again after your tolerance has dropped (e.g., like after being in treatment, a hospital, or jail). After a break from opioids, the body can’t handle as much as it did before.
• Taking prescription pain medication more often or in higher doses than prescribed-or using someone else’s prescription pain medication. The dose could be too much.
• Using heroin or pills bought on the street. Heroin and street pills often contain other substances that can be dangerously toxic.
• Using opioids with alcohol or other drugs including sleeping pills, benzodiazepines (“benzos” like Valium and Xanax), cocaine and methamphetamine.
• Any current or chronic illness that weakens the heart or makes it harder to breathe.
• Using opioids alone. You are more likely to die from an overdose if no one is there to help.
• Previous overdose. A person who has overdosed before is more likely to overdose again.