what is opioid addiction
What is opioid dependence? Opioids are medicines, such as morphine and codeine, used to treat pain. Dependence happens after you have used opioids regularly for a long period of time. Dependence means that your body gets used to how much medicine you take. Dependence is not the same as addiction. Addiction means that a person uses opioids to get high instead of using them to control pain. 1  You need more of the opioid to get the same amount of pain relief as you did when you first started taking it.  You have tried to use less opioid medicine but are not able to.