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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?
- 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.
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| Definitions of Terms Used |
| Addiction | 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.
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| | ©2005 remository.com |
Source: Drug Enforcement Agency
Image Source: Drug Enforcement Agency
Toll Free: 888-9NO-DRUGS or 888-966-3784
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