OxyContin Abuse and Addiction
According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Health National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), recreational use of OxyContin has become a significant problem in recent years, including among adolescents. According to NIDA's 2004 Monitoring the Future Study, approximately 5% of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders reported using OxyContin.
OxyContin is classified as an opioid, one of three classes of prescription drugs that are most commonly abused in the United States today. The other two classes are central nervous system (CNS) depressants and stimulants. OxyContin is a powerful and highly addictive painkiller. When used recreationally, it is often injected or inhaled, which not only intensifies its euphoric effect but also the danger to the user.
Opioids are biological (harvested from opium poppies) and synthetic chemicals which bind to opioid receptors in the human body and create morphine-like effects. Opiates are a subset of opioids and generally refer to naturally occurring chemicals derived from the opium poppy. Opioids can contain biological and/or synthetic chemicals, and are usually prescribed as painkillers, though they are also sometimes used to alleviate coughing and diarrhea.
Opioid painkillers are powerful and can be highly addictive. Well-known opioids include morphine, codeine, heroin (diamorphine), and oxycodone (e.g., OxyContin, Percodan, and Percocet).
Opium, opiates, and opioids produce comparable effects. In low doses, these substances are highly effective as analgesics (painkillers), cough suppressants, and anti-diarrhea medications. Those who ingest medium and high doses may experience euphoria, nausea, depressed respiration, and sleepiness; users can also experience seizures, dizziness, weakness, loss of consciousness, coma, confusion, cardiac arrest, and clammy skin. High doses can easily depress respiration to a fatal level, especially when used in combination with other depressants such as alcohol.
Both physically and psychologically, these substances are powerfully addictive; the withdrawal process is intense. Symptoms of withdrawal include suicidal ideation, cold sweats, immobility, insomnia, severe diarrhea, abnormal body temperature and heartbeat, and clinical depression.
Oxycodone drugs (OxyContin, Percodan, and Percocet) are synthesized from the opium derivative thebaine. Thebaine is similar to codeine but is more powerful and potentially addictive. These drugs are designed to be taken orally. Percodan is oxycodone and aspirin, Percocet is oxycodone and acetaminophen.
Oxycodones are administered typically in the form of time-release tablets, which dilutes the potential effect of the drug to a safe level. Recreational users and addicts usually crush the tablets and snort the powder, or mix it with water to inject. This "mainlining" of the active drug controverts the time-release feature and intensifies the user's high. It also increases potential health risks associated with use.
Prescription drug abuse is a significant problem in the United States. The 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that in 2006, 2.5 million people (ages 12 and older) first used prescribed medication for non-medical reasons. Of these, 84% used pain relievers, 48% used tranquilizers, 26% used stimulants, and 8% used sedatives.
Also, according to the study, first-time users of pain killers increased from 573,000 in 1990 to 2.5 million in 2000. In the 2007 NSDUH study, 2.2 million reported first-time use of painkillers during the previous year. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration's (SAMHSA) Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN), of almost 1.3 million emergency room visits in 2004 related to substance use, non-medical use of pharmaceuticals was involved in nearly 500,000 of these visits. In particular, opiate and or opioid painkillers and benzodiazepines were involved in more than 100,000 emergency room visits associated related to non-medical pharmaceutical use.
Data on first-time use of pain relievers for non-medical reasons by race, gender, and age also show interesting trends. In 2004, more than one-half (54.9% percent) of individuals who first used pain relievers for non-medical reasons were female, and three-quarters (75%) of first-time users were non-Hispanic white. The average age at first illicit use was 23. This data indicates that the user profile for non-medical abuse of painkillers is predominantly young, white, and, increasingly, female.
The 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health also revealed disturbing facts about how prescription drugs are obtained for recreational use. In both 2006 and 2007, more than 50% of individuals (ages 12 and older) who reported non-medical use of prescription-type pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants said that they obtained these drugs "from a friend or relative for free."
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