Who, what, where and how are people in the United States using OxyContin for abuse purposes?
What is OxyContin®?
OxyContin® is the brand name of a time-release formula of the Analgesic
chemical oxycodone. OxyContin®, which is produced by the pharmaceutical
company Purdue Pharma, is prescribed as a pain Medication. Instances of
abuse of this Drug have increased in recent years.
Street terms for OxyContin®: Hillbilly Heroin, Oxy, Oxycotton (1)
What does OxyContin® look like?
OxyContin® comes in tablet form.
What are the methods of usage?
Chewing the tablets
Snorting crushed tablets
Dissolving tablets in water and injecting
These methods cause a faster, highly dangerous release of medication.
Who abuses OxyContin®?
Abuse of OxyContin® in rural Maine, Kentucky,
Virginia, and West Virginia brought national attention to this problem.
The areas most currently affected by OxyContin®
abuse are eastern Kentucky; New Orleans, Louisiana; southern Maine;
Philadelphia and southwestern Pennsylvania; southwestern Virginia;
Cincinnati, Ohio; and Phoenix, Arizona. (2)
An increase in illegal use has been especially apparent on the East Coast. (3)
9% or 19.9 million Americans have used pain relievers illegally in their lifetime. (4)
How does OxyContin® get to the United States?
Because it is a legal drug, OxyContin® is supplied across the country for legitimate medical purposes.
Word of mouth has allowed users to devise illicit usage techniques.
Pharmacy robberies, health care fraud, and
international trafficking constitute illicit distribution ability.
How much does OxyContin® cost?
When legally sold, a 10-mg tablet of OxyContin® will cost $1.25 and an 80-mg tablet will cost $6.
When illegally sold, a 10-mg tablet of OxyContin®
can cost between $5 and $10. An 80-mg tablet can cost between $65 and
$80. (5)
What are some consequences of illicit OxyContin® use?
A large dosage can cause severe respiratory depression that can lead to death. (7)
Withdrawal symptoms include restlessness, muscle
and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose
bumps, and involuntary leg movements. (8)
1. Office of National Drug Control Policy, Street Terms: Drugs and the Drug Trade.
2. Drug Enforcement Administration, OxyContin ®;: Pharmaceutical Diversion, March 2002.
3. DEA Congressional Testimony, December 11, 2001.
4. Office of National Drug Control Policy, OxyContin® Fact Sheet.
5. United States Department of Justice, OxyContin® Diversion and Abuse, January 2001.
6. National Institute on Drug abuse, Prescription Drugs: Abuse and Addiction, February 2002.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
Strong physiological, emotional and/or psychological dependence on a substance such as alcohol or drugs that has progressed beyond voluntary control. For more on addiction see the section Addiction Information in this website.
Analgesic
A group of medications that reduce pain.
Drug
Any substance, other than food, that changes the function or structure of the body or mind when ingested. Drugs essentially are poisons. The degree they are taken determines the effect. A small amount acts as a stimulant. A greater amount acts as a sedative. A larger amount acts as a poison and can kill one dead. This is true of any drug. Each has a different amount at which it gives those results.
Drug abuse
The use of illegal drugs or the inappropriate use of legal drugs. The repeated use of drugs to produce pleasure, to alleviate stress, or to alter or avoid reality - or all three.
Heroin
The potent, widely abused opiate that produces a profound addiction. It consists of two morphine molecules linked together chemically.
Medication
A drug that is used to treat an illness or disease according to established medical guidelines.
Physical dependence
An adaptive physiological state that occurs with regular drug use and results in a withdrawal syndrome when drug use is stopped; usually occurs with tolerance.
Withdrawal
Symptoms that occur after chronic use of a drug is reduced or stopped.
Drug Info 
What does OxyContin® look like?
