Can You Develop Opiate Addiction Without Using Heroin?

0:00Can you develop opiate addiction without using heroin?

0:05I'm going to tell you.

0:06I'm Dr. Rodriguez from Healing Sky.

0:08I'm also the medical director of the Daugherty Center for Healing.

0:11And today we're going to talk about, can you develop opiate addiction without using heroin?

0:17The short answer is absolutely yes.

0:21Most addiction with opioids nowadays is actually not from heroin.

0:27Back in the day, heroin was the one that was commonly thought of as the main addictive

0:32opioid.

0:33And yes, heroin is more addictive than other opioids.

0:38That's why it was only briefly legal for use in the United States for medical reasons.

0:45It became classified as a class one, which is considered a substance with an unreasonably

0:53high addictive potential and not generally safe for public consumption due to the excessively

1:00high risk of addiction.

1:03People who use heroin typically will end up addicted and it is a big, big problem.

1:08Although ironically, heroin was first developed as the treatment for morphine addiction.

1:17And yes, they literally developed heroin as the treatment to get somebody off of morphine.

1:23They later realized that the heroin was actually worse than the morphine.

1:27Go figure.

1:28Now, other opioids, as we saw with morphine in that case, are also very addictive.

1:35Even if they're not as addictive as heroin, they are more than addictive enough to cause

1:41dependence.

1:43Even prescribed opioids, even things that seem to be not so bad like codeine are also

1:49very addictive.

1:51Other prescribed opioids are more addictive like oxycodone and fentanyl.

1:57And certainly all the different kinds of opioids you get on the street, which include fentanyl

2:02and norfentanyl are all very addictive.

2:06As a group, all the opioids have a potential for addiction.

2:10Certain ones have a higher risk than others.

2:13Heroin being really, really up there, very addictive as is fentanyl.

2:18But even things like codeine have a significant level of addiction potential.

2:22Certain ones that are intended for treating opioid dependence do have a lower risk like

2:28methadone and buprenorphine.

2:31But those still, if you take them regularly, will develop at least a physical dependence.

2:38I hope you find this information helpful.

2:40If you're having issues with addiction, please seek help.

2:43You can find a provider here on Healing Sky.

2:46If you want to see me as your provider, you can reach me through delraycenter.com.

2:51Please like, follow, and subscribe to my content here on Healing Sky and look for my podcast

2:57in the fall of 2026.

2:59Thank you.