In Portland, addiction poses a significant challenge, with methamphetamine emerging as a commonly misused substance in the area. The city grapples with the complex intersection of substance use and its impact on the community. Crestview Recovery, located in Portland, plays a crucial role in addressing addiction issues by offering residential treatment services.
Specializing in comprehensive care, Crestview Recovery in Portland, Oregon, provides individuals with a supportive and structured environment for recovery. Our residential treatment program is designed to address the unique challenges associated with addiction, including methamphetamine use, helping individuals regain control over their lives and embark on a path toward lasting recovery.
Commonly Abused Substances in Portland
Oregonians have reported some of the highest rates of substance use disorder (SUD) for years. The opioid epidemic is almost 3 decades old and the use of methamphetamine which has been Oregon’s deadliest drug for a long time, has not diminished. The following is a list of the most commonly abused substances in Oregon in general and Portland in particular.
Alcohol
Alcohol is the most misused substance in the state. Slightly more than 12% of people in Oregon struggle with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Although not the most addictive drug, alcohol has a powerful effect on your brain. It produces pleasant feelings and dulls negative ones. Alcohol stimulates your brain to release dopamine and endorphins. These chemicals act as natural painkillers and bring about feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. These feelings prompt some individuals to use alcohol over and over despite the negative consequences for their health and well-being.
If you struggle with alcohol use our alcohol addiction rehab in Portland offers quality, comprehensive treatment.
Fentanyl
Fentanyl is an especially addictive synthetic opioid. Fueled by fentanyl, the number of overdose deaths in Oregon has grown since 2019. And, even though the surge in overdoses is part of a national problem, the state’s underfunded treatment system still struggles to provide local solutions.
Fentanyl puts both users experimenting with drugs for the first time and people who have been longtime drug users at a much higher risk of overdose than most other drugs. People have died from a single dose. Many didn’t know they were consuming fentanyl. Our fentanyl addiction rehab in Portland combines medically-assisted treatment and therapy to address issues caused be fentanyl misuse.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant. It affects your central nervous system. “Meth” increases the amount of the natural chemical dopamine in your brain. Dopamine is concerned with body movement, motivation, and reinforcement of rewarding behaviors. The ability to release high levels of dopamine in the reward areas of your brain quickly strongly reinforces the behavior making the individual want to repeat the experience.
Similar to 2020, methamphetamine was the most common drug noted in the county’s (Multnomah) fatalities. But the number of deaths involving fentanyl, and a combination of opioids and meth, saw the biggest increases. However, meth remained the deadliest drug in general. It was implicated in 93 deaths. That amounts to 82% of deaths due to substances, which continued the trend from 2020. At Crestview, we understand that methamphetamine addiction is an issue and offer outstanding treatment.
Opioids
Opioids are very addictive, mainly because they activate powerful reward centers in your brain. They trigger the release of endorphins, which are your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters. The endorphins then suppress your sensation of pain and increase feelings of pleasure. This creates a powerful but temporary feeling of well-being. When it wears off, you will probably want the good sensations back as quickly as possible. This is the first landmark on the path to addiction.
Our opioid addiction rehab in Portland, address cravings and utilizes therapies to help our client quit using opioids.
The Most Addictive Drugs: A Comprehensive Overview
From the points of view of different researchers, a drug’s potential to be addictive can be judged in terms of the street value and how much harm it causes.
Heroin
Heroin is an illegal, highly addictive opioid drug and is considered the most addictive drug. It’s made from morphine which comes from the opium poppy plant. Right after you use heroin, it gets to your brain and produces a rush of good feelings and happiness. Heroin blocks pain messages in your body. Because it slows your heart rate and breathing you may feel as if the world has slowed down for several hours.
Repeated use of the drug can lead to tolerance, meaning that the person needs to use more and more of it to have the same effects. Over time, the body develops a physical dependency on heroin. However, heroin addiction is more than physical dependence, it is a chronic brain disorder. A factor that played a part in the rise of heroin addiction is the growing misuse of prescription opioid painkillers which are chemically related to heroin.
Cocaine
The second most addictive drug is Cocaine. Whether it is snorted, injected, or smoked, cocaine enters your bloodstream rapidly and penetrates your brain. Its immediate psychological effect causes a buildup of the neurochemical dopamine and prevents neurons from turning off the signals. This causes the high. Even though cocaine also inhibits the transporters of other neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine), it is believed that the effects on the dopamine system are the most important.
Barbiturates
Barbiturates belong to an old class of drugs that were originally used to treat anxiety and help people sleep. They are central nervous system depressants and cause effects that range from mild sedation to general anesthesia. These drugs interfere with the chemical signaling in the brain by shutting down various brain regions. At low doses, they cause euphoria but at higher doses, they suppress your breathing and may be fatal.
Benzodiazepines
A class of drugs known as benzodiazepines have replaced barbiturates for both medical and recreational use for the most part. Benzodiazepines also have a high risk of physical dependence and negative effects.
Alcohol
One of the most commonplace drugs in the world is alcohol. Researchers found that alcohol can increase dopamine levels in animal brains by 40 to 360%. The more they drank, the higher their dopamine levels rose.
Dual Diagnosis: Substance Use and Mental Health
Dual diagnosis treatment in Portland is a combination of diagnoses. Dual diagnosis is a term that means you have both a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder at the same time. Other names for this include “co-morbidity” and “co-occurring disorder”.
Mental health disorders include anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A substance use disorder may include drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances. When these two conditions occur at the same time, the effects of one can worsen the other. Mental health conditions that go untreated can cause substance use problems to increase and when that happens, the mental health problems may also increase in a vicious cycle.
How Common is Dual Diagnosis?
Dual diagnosis is a frequent occurrence. About 50% of people who have SUD during their lives will also have a mental health disorder and vice versa. Seventeen million U.S. adults in 2020 had co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.
Which Condition Happens First?
It’s hard to figure out which condition happened first. Even though they occur together, it doesn’t mean one caused the other. SUDs may not directly cause mental health disorders. Similarly, a mental health disorder doesn’t necessarily cause SUD. But there’s a clear connection between them.
Mental health disorders may contribute to SUDs because some mental health disorders change the way the reward centers of your brain work, making it more likely that you’ll become addicted. In addition, many people use drugs or alcohol to try to medicate the symptoms of their mental condition. On the other hand, drugs, alcohol, and other substances can trigger changes to your brain’s function and structure, making you more likely to develop a mental health disorder.
Prevention and Education: Empowering the Community
Measure 110
Oregon voters passed Measure 110, or the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act in November 2020. By passing the measure, the voters of Oregon recognized that:
- Drug addiction and overdoses are a serious problem in Oregon
- Access to treatment needs to be expanded
- A health-based approach is more effective and humane
- Criminalizing people because they suffer from addiction makes it harder to get access to treatment and recovery
BHRNs
In 2021, the Behavioral Health Resource Networks (BHRNs) was established. BHRNs work together to provide community-based services and support to individuals with SUDs. Each county and Tribal area has at least one. The State of Oregon’s policy is that screening, assessments, treatment, and recovery services for drug addiction should be available to all people who need and want the services.
Addiction Prevention Section
In July of 2023, the Executive Leadership Team of the Addiction Prevention Section launched a relationship with the Oregon Council on Behavioral Health. The purpose of the Addiction Prevention Section is to promote community-based prevention throughout the state. The section serves as an effective influence in policy, programming, and funding regarding alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, prescription drugs, illicit drugs, mental health, and other community health topics.
Treatment and Support Services in Portland
If you or a loved one are struggling with an addiction problem, you can find support and treatment services in Portland at Crestview Recovery. After a complete evaluation, we can provide you with a treatment program designed for your needs and requirements. Our programs include:
- Residential (Inpatient)
- Partial Hospitalization
- Outpatient Programs (Intensive and Standard)
In addition, Crestview has a dual-diagnosis treatment program. It’s vital to have mental health and substance use disorders treated simultaneously, especially by the same treatment team. We also have specialized separate programs for women and men. Many people have difficulty being open and frank in mixed-gender groups.
The staff at Crestview consists of experienced, medical and mental health professionals whose only purpose is to help you recover. Contact us today to start comprehensive addiction treatment in Portland, Oregon.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
