Protect Yourself

We don't want to cause people that have a legitimate prescription for a drug like Oxycontin or other narcotic pain medication to become paranoid, but there does seem to be a rise in the number of home invasions and other types of robbery involving these drugs.  Either the perpetrator or perpetrators want the drugs for their own habit, or they want to convert the drugs on the street for cash.

So make sure the outlet you get your medication from properly disposes of documentation that might have your name and address on it, properly dispose of any documentation that you throw out, including empty prescription bottles.  And if you have your drugs mailed to you, consider having them mailed to someone's work address, or a post office box instead.

Some people who maintain a large supply will sometimes keep the supply at another safe location and just keep a week's worth in their home.  And be careful who knows that you're taking such medication.  Most people don't need to know.  (There are other precautions listed a bit further down under "Relevant Random Facts.")

The One Legitimate "Gate-Way" Drug - Oxycontin To Heroin

At All Positive Options, we don't embrace the concept of "gate-way" drugs, but in the case of Oxycontin, we make an exception because once you're dependent on Oxycontin, you're perfectly set up to make the cross-over to heroin and here's why:

First, if you stick with it long enough, eventually the dosage of Oxycontin that's required just to feel normal will become too expensive for most people and heroin is way cheaper.  Secondly, you will find it harder and harder to actually get Oxycontin in large doses, given recent restrictions and doctors being gun-shy about prescribing it.  Again, heroin is not only cheaper, in most regions it's also more widely available.  For example, in the Boston area in the U.S., depending on potency, a single pill's street value can range between $65 and $80.  On the other hand, a single "hit bag" of heroin costs under five dollars - less than a pack of cigarettes.

And the third reason is that Oxycontin and heroin also render a very similar high for the user, so there's a "familiarity factor" between the effect of the two drugs.

Relevant Random Facts About Prescription Drugs

• A popular way for users or aspiring dealers to get multiple doses of drugs is to go to many different doctors, emergency care centers or emergency rooms.  This is called among other things, "doctor shopping," or "script surfing."

• Another way of obtaining drugs is by searching through medicine cabinets at friends' and family members' houses.  Some users have done circuits of real estate open houses, or with a young child in tow, approach the houses of complete strangers faking an emergency and asking to use the bathroom.

• Some doctors have been charged with "script-splitting," where a script is split with a client, and they keep and sell half to a drug "fence."  Some doctors have written and filled prescriptions for friends or family members, then kept the pills to take or re-deal.

• The Internet can be used to easily obtain prescription drugs that are traditionally only obtainable by prescription, or are actually illegal in some jurisdictions.

• Prescription drug abuse is on the rise and particularly in the "tween" and teen age groups.

• Typical abusers tend to come from good family backgrounds, they're usually well-educated and middle to upper class economically,  One key correlation among teen abusers is the availability of prescription drugs, or the child's " proximity" to a source.  Children of doctors, nurses, and vets can often be the first point of supply among teens.  Teens in general, use their parents as their unwitting sources of supply for many prescription drugs.  As of 2005, it's thought that painkillers are now the number one drug used by first-time drug users, surpassing marijuana.  And let's be perfectly candid - comparing Oxycontin to marijuana is like comparing a 357 magnum to a pea shooter.  This is a drug you DO NOT want to become dependent on.  

• It's alleged by some that "pharming" parties are increasingly popular and these are basically the prescription drug equivalent of a "keg party" and binge drinking.  Everybody puts their pills on the table and you grab and take whatever you want.  At All Positive Options, we've found it fairly difficult to confirm that this is a widespread behavior.

• An extremely high proportion of prescription drug abusers (particularly Oxycodone type drugs) start by legitimately using the drugs to relieve pain.  Tolerance builds up, dosages increase and eventually, addiction sneaks its way in.

The Growth & Spread Of Abuse

The potential dangers of oxycodone can be traced as far back as the 1960's when the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime classified it as a dangerous drug as part of The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Ordinance in 1960.  Abuse of the drug in the United States and Canada has been a continuing problem since the early 1960's, prompting the United States Government to classify it as a Schedule II drug. Until 1995, when the Food and Drug Administration approved OxyContin, there was little concern over the abuse of oxycodone based products. But, in 1996 when the manufacturer of OxyContin began to market and distribute the drug, concerns and reports of illicit use and abuse began to increase.

At first, Maine, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Maryland reported increases in the abuse of OxyContin with information they gathered from treatment centers, law enforcement, and pharmacists.   Now, abuse of the drug has expanded throughout the United States and is particularly acute right now in the state of Massachusetts, where doctors are hesitant to prescribe it, and people with legitimate prescriptions are having a hard time getting them filled.

A truly astounding statistic from Massachusetts shows treatment admissions for the category "other opiates" (which includes OxyContin,) has increased from 325 people in 1992, to 3,089 people in 2002.  Yes, you read that right - an increase of 950% over the past ten years!  We can only imagine what the figures look like for 2008.

On the next page, we're going to get right into the actual use of Oxycontin, the abuse cycle, and the effects of abuse.  We'll also look at what treatment options are available for people addicted to this drug.

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