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Reputable Drug Gone Bad
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By:
Dianne Wright, MSA, CACII, CEAP
As an addiction therapist, it hasn’t been surprising to see adult clients abusing and becoming addicted to OxyContin (“Oxy” and “Oxycotton” are a few if its common street names).
Oxycodone, an opium derivative, is used to bring relief to patients who are suffering pain from cancer or other debilitating conditions.
What is surprising and disturbing is the number of high school kids and those in their early 20s who have become addicted. On the East Coast, where the initial abuse hit the hardest, Jay P. McCloskey, U. S. attorney for Maine says, “We’re talking about some of the best students, some of the best athletes."
Among youth age 12-17, the incidence rate increased from 6.3 per 1,000 new users in 1990 to 32.4 per l,000 potential new users in 1998. For young adults 18-25, the rate of first use increased between 1990 and 1998 from 7.7 to 20.3 per 1,000 potential new users. However,
OxyContin, like many other prescription drugs, is another “equal opportunity drug” where age really doesn’t matter.
A common painkiller, oxycodone is nothing new – having been used in drugs such as Percodan and Percocet since the early ’60s.
OxyContin, however, contains a much higher concentration of the highly addictive opium derivative.
A time-released drug, designed to be taken orally, it is being chewed, crushed and snorted by abusers. Because it can be dissolved in water, it is often injected. A central nervous system depressant, it causes analgesia, respiratory depression and euphoria.
According to a 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA), the illegal use of OxyContin has recently increased. The NHSDA reports emergency department mentions increased from 3,369 during January-June 1999 to 5,261 in the first half of 2000.
Purdue Pharma, its manufacturer, says overdose deaths typically involve multiple factors such as alcohol. Purdue Pharma now plans to increase education and oversight of OxyContin to guard against its increasing abuse. For those of us in the field, this is a welcome move.
Sources: “Substance Report:
Oxycodone,” Drug Enforcement Administration; “OxyContin Diversion and Abuse; “Prescription Drugs: Misuse, Abuse and Addiction,” National Institute on Drug Abuse; Office of National Drug control Policy and Partnership for A Drug Free America.
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