OxyContin Drug Addiction on the Rise
Prescription Pill Being Monitored to Prevent More Abuse
June 2001 — In the war against drugs, there's good news and bad news. Overdose deaths from cocaine decreased 3 percent during the last six months of 2000, and heroin deaths rose only slightly during this period. On the other hand, deaths from OxyContin, a powerful prescription pain reliever, exceeded both. OxyContin contains oxycodone, an opioid and one of the most effective pain relievers known. OxyContin is now the leading cause of overdose death and a major player in non-fatal overdoses and suicides.
Even worse, the number of deaths are only the tip of the iceberg. Law enforcement officials, emergency department physicians and substance abuse counselors in South Florida are seeing more and more people addicted to OxyContin and similar drugs. According to the Herald, the drug was implicated in 52 deaths in Broward County and 11 in Miami-Dade from July-December 2000. Officials expect the numbers to grow in 2001.
"Pretty much anybody using an opiate without a prescription, whether they have been addicted to heroin or whatever, is now involved in OxyContin," says Dr. Thomas Macaluso, Director of Behavioral Health and the Detoxification Unit at Memorial Regional Hospital. "It's very accessible on the street."
Defeating the Time-Release Formula
OxyContin's popularity is the direct result of the qualities that make it a valuable drug for pain caused by cancer and other diseases. The most potent form of OxyContin - a 160 mg pill - releases oxycodone over time. This helps maintain a constant level of painkiller in the bloodstream and prevent the ups and downs produced by short-acting opioids. Abusers have discovered that chewing or crushing the pills releases the oxycodone all at once, giving them a rush similar to a heroin high. Moreover, the pills are a legitimate drug and, therefore, easier to obtain.
Addiction to OxyContin often starts innocently enough when the drug is prescribed for legitimate reasons, such as debilitating back pain. After becoming dependent on the drug, the user might seek a physician or pharmacist willing to supply the drug without asking too many questions. Some users take the pills immediately to the street, where they sell for about $1 per milligram, or $160 per pill. When a supply is not easily available, some people have robbed pharmacies.
Restricting Access
In response to this growing abuse, Purdue Pharma has temporarily suspended shipments of the 160mg version of OxyContin to pharmacies and plans to make the product's extended-release formula harder to violate. Medicaid has also limited the number of OxyContin pills allowed per prescription. Physicians who prescribe OxyContin for legitimate pain needs are being careful, too.
Dr. Robert Glasser, a hematologist-oncologist for the Memorial Healthcare System says he only prescribes the drug for patients with malignant diseases.
"Now that the 160-milligram pill is no longer available, we just use shorter-acting analgesics. That means patients take two pills every four hours instead of one pill every 12 hours. It's a little less convenient, but the pain control and four-hour dosing are often adequate."