For many years there has been an epidemic of drug abuse. There has been a drug abuse of cocaine, crack, and heroin but in the last few there has been an abuse of prescription drugs for nonmedical reasons. About 2.6 million people in the U.S. abuse prescription drugs. (Prescription Drug Abuse Rivals Illicit Drug Abuse, Some See Double Standard in Law Enforcement, Retrieved December 8, 2002 from http://www.ndsn.org/OCT96/PRESCRIP.html) In the past few years the abuse of OxyContin has lead to many deaths, lawsuits and addiction. .
OxyContin is a prescription drug for chronic pain and has been said that it is a man made heroin drug. OxyContin is a trade name for the generic narcotic Oxycodone hydrochloride, an opiate agonist. Opiate agonists provide pain relief by acting on opioid receptors in the spinal cord, brain, and possibly in the tissues directly. An opioid acts like morphine and is the most effective drug for pain. (National Drug Intelligence Center OxyContin Diversion and Abuse January 2001, Retrieved December 8, 2002 from http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs/651/backgrnd.htm#Top) OxyContin was first developed by a company Purdue Pherma L.P. in December of 1995 and is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance. .
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There have been many deaths linked to OxyContin overdose. There have been reports of doctors who have been charged with manslaughter for prescribing OxyContin. (Doctor Convicted in OxyContin Deaths, Retrieved December 10, 2002 from http://www.jointogether.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,548406,00.html).
Other abuses come from people who have been in accidents and been prescribed OxyContin as a painkiller. Most people that have been prescribed OxyContin have been legitimately and not knowing that this prescription pill becomes very addicting. When trying to stop taking the pill, many people have found that they cannot stop and keep taking the pills. Many people have found the withdrawal symptoms are more severe than heroin.
Abuse of OxyContin C. Deaths from OxyContin abuse II. Taking steps to stop abuse of OxyContin III. ... Steps OxyContin manufacturer is taking to stop abuse OxyContin: Savior or Killer? ... The abuse of OxyContin has led to hundreds of deaths across the country. ...
Severity of OxyContin Abuse 1. ... The severity of the abuse is evident in the number of deaths linked to OxyContin as well as the number of associated crimes. " I've never seen a drug on the market for so short a time abused to the degree that OxyContin has been." ... When OxyContin is abused it causes a heroin like addiction that often causes abusers to commit crimes in support of their habits (Penn). ... The DEA plans to unveil many programs to curb the abuse of OxyContin. ... The primary focus of Purdue Pharma's efforts to curb OxyContin abuse is to stop the abuse without taking...
If the OxyContin is discontinued in a dependant patient, an abstinence syndrome may occur ("OxyContin,"" 2539). ... Addiction is characterized by preoccupation with the drug, hoarding and abuse for non-medical purposes ("OxyContin,"" 2540). ... In one detoxification center in Ashland, KY, 75% of the patients treated were treated for OxyContin ("Abuse-). "Abusers need larger and larger doses to get an effect and eventually need it just to feel comfortable,"" stated Dr. ... Death from fatal respiratory depression can happen, but some of the more common reasons abusers die are from injecting t...
In this section of my paper I will introduce OxyContin as a prescription painkiller and tell you about the effects it has on the body when it is abused. ... Abusing OxyContin is exactly like abusing heroin because their ingredients, such as opioids, are very similar. ... The most serious and lethal risk with abusing OxyContin is respiratory depression and failure, which can very possibly lead to a person's death. ... This part comes from my own past experience, dealing with someone who still uses and abuses OxyContin on a regular basis. ... I never abused pills like OxyContin, but Bein...
To begin with, Oxycodones' brand names include M-Oxy, OxyContin, Oxyir, Percolone, and Roxicodone. ... It is said that it is only a matter of time before every community in this country is confronted with the problem of OxyContin abuse. No prescription drug in the last 20 years has been so widely abused after its release, federal officials say. ... It is highly addictive when abused. ... Overdose of Oxycontin or other CNS depressants is a serious thing that may require hospitalization. ...
Oxycontin is an extremely unsafe and addictive drug that has recently been a controversial topic in the media. Oxycontin have become an epidemic in the drug world and many efforts are being made to control its use. Oxycontin is a prescribed drug to ease the pain of severe Cancer patients. ... Adderall, like all amphetamines, has a high potential for abuse. ... With more money, scientist can find efficient ways of taking this drug so it can not be abused by its users. ...
He is 26 years old and is addicted to OxyContin. ... Mark said that overtime the amazing results of the OxyContin lessened and he had to buy more pills to be able to get the same feeling that he had before. ... " "Withdrawal of OxyContin felt like a severe case of the flu and insomnia combined, Mark said.... Mark said that after six months of being addicted to OxyContin, he became unemployed. ... I dealt with abuse growing up and the separation of my parents at the age of 7. ...
This double-dosing of opiate-based drugs creates a synergistic effect of the drug, creating dangerously low levels of cardiac and respiratory function that may result in hospitalization and death (Alcohol and Drug Abuse Certification Test Manual, 2011). ... Many addicts find themselves addicted to heroin, morphine, codeine, Oxycontin, and hydrocodone, after being given these drugs as a part of their medication protocol subsequent to surgery, accidents, or injury. Being given the medication as a treatment protocol adds to the legitimacy of the addict's inclination to overuse and misus...
Historically, substance abuse has been portrayed to mirror the lower class. ... The Drug Enforcement Agency reports that Vicodin is the most abused prescription drug in the United States. ... Nationwide, Vicodin abuse has quadrupled in the last ten years, while emergency room visits attributed to Vicodin abuse soared 500 percent (DEA, 2007). ... Sometimes seen as a "white-collar" addiction, Vicodin abuse has increased among all classes of people. ... New scientific understandings of brain chemistry are paving the way for significantly improved treatments for people who are addicted to hero...
