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Posts Tagged ‘narcotics’

Oxycontin, A Good Drug Gone Bad?

by admin on: August 19th, 2011

When it was first approved for sale in 1995, Oxycontin looked to be the ultimate prescription painkiller that contains a synthetic version of morphine. Though it initially seemed a safer drug, ultimately, just like other opiods, it proved to be highly addictive.

Oxycontin was thought to be ideal for people who could never find real relief for extreme pain. With its time release formulation, Oxycontin can be taken once daily and bring solace to people suffering from chronic conditions like arthritis all day long. The catch, however, is that its users very quickly build up a tolerance to the drug and its euphoric effects. And the withdrawal from Oxcycontin brings symptoms as horrifying as a boat ride on the river Styx, followed by a walk through the flames of Hades.

The dosing directions for Oxycontin state clearly that the tablets should be taken whole and not crushed, as ingesting the pills in crushed form will give a huge, immediate rush of the drugs’ much sought after euphoric effects. And so, of course, many drug users proceed to crush the pills to reach the high they seek.

One of the attractions of Oxycontin is that the drug???s ???high??? comes without obvious signs of intoxication. Users say the high is incredible. So much so, in fact, that many heroin users gravitate to use of the drug because chewing it brings a similar high as heroin, without all the preparation involved. Many of the Oxcycontin tablets initially prescribed for elderly patients seeking pain relief found their way onto the drug black market, where they were crushed and sold for a large profit to addicts.

Oxcycontin???s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, has attempted to alter the drug???s formula to reduce the impact of the medication that comes from crushing the tablets. Today the tablets are sold with a strict warning regarding the dangers of addiction to Oxycontin. Whether that warning is actually adhered to by all patients is another story.