Oxycontin , Hydrocodone, Vicodin And Norco Narcotic Pain Relievers For Relief Chronic Pain

Prescription painkillers outpace heroin, cocaine in OD deaths

2012-01-03T10:47:00.000-08:00

Overdose deaths from abuse of prescription painkillers in the U.S. now outnumber deaths involving heroin and cocaine combined, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.

In 2008, drug overdoses caused 36,450 deaths in the U.S. One or more prescription drugs were involved in 20,044 of these deaths, CDC researchers wrote in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Opioid pain relievers, including oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone, were involved in 14,800. In 1999, only about 4,000 people were killed by overdosing on this type of drug, the CDC said.

Death rates among non-Hispanic whites and American Indians were three times higher than rates in blacks and Hispanic whites, and were highest among people ages 35 to 54. People in rural counties were about twice as likely to overdose on prescription painkillers as people in large cities.

Sales of the drugs soared along with the death rates, rising fourfold from 1999 to 2008.

In 2010, 4.8% of Americans 12 years or older used opioid pain relievers nonmedically -- that is, without a prescription or purely for the feeling the drug causes. The report calculated that by 2010, "enough opioid pain relievers were sold to medicate every American adult with a typical dose of 5 mg of hydrocodone every four hours one month."

The CDC recommended interventions including tracking prescription patterns, tracking overdoses, and limiting reimbursements to reduce inappropriate prescribing, but cautioned that officials "must strike a balance between reducing misuse and abuse and safeguarding legitimate access to treatment."

Mood and Anxiety Disorders May Trigger Opioid Abuse

2011-12-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Many people suffering from depression or other mental health issues may turn to alcohol to ease their pain before seeking professional help. New research confirms that these patients are at an increased risk to use opioid drugs as well.

A new study published in the Journal of Psychological Medicine suggests that those suffering from mood and anxiety disorders may be more susceptible to opioid abuse.

Opioids are strong painkiller medications that are commonly prescribed for acute pain after surgery or trauma, and often for chronic pain in patients with terminal illnesses such as metastatic cancer.

Common opioids include codeine, morphine, hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (Percocet, Oxycontin), and meperidine (Demerol).

Silvia Martins, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and associate scientist at the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health explains, "Non-medical opioid-use disorder due to non-medical prescription opioid use was associated with any mood disorder, any anxiety disorder, as well as with several incident mood disorders and anxiety disorders.”

Dr. Martins continued, “There is also evidence that the association works the other way too. Increased risk of incident opioid disorder due to non-medical use occurred among study participants with baseline mood disorders, major depressive disorder, dysthymia and panic disorder, reinforcing our finding that participants with mood disorders might use opioids non-medically to alleviate their mood symptoms."

“Early identification and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders might reduce the risk for self-medication with prescription opioids and the risk of future development of an opioid-use disorder."

The study used data collected through a 2001-2005 longitudinal interview survey called the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) in order to assess a history of psychiatric disorders in adult participants.

Dr. Martin’s coworker and coauthor on the study, Carla Storr, Sc.D., notes, “With the current increased use of non-medical prescription drugs, especially among adolescents, the association with future psychopathology is of great concern.

Using opioids, or even withdrawal from opioids, might precipitate anxiety disorders, suggesting that there is a subgroup of people who are vulnerable to future development of anxiety disorders.”

A study published this week by the National Institute of Health notes that the opioid painkiller Vicodin was used by 8.1% of twelfth grade high school students and by 5.9% of tenth graders participating in an annual Monitoring the Future survey through NIH.

Though down from past years, these reports did not show a decline in use of the opioid Oxycontin.

If concerned about prescription drug use with your child or loved one, contact a health professional to determine the best course of action.

Pharmacies Besieged by Addicted Thieves

2011-12-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

The orange signs posted throughout Chet Hibbard’s pharmacy here relay a blunt warning: We Do Not Stock OxyContin.

Mr. Hibbard stopped dispensing the highly addictive painkiller last July, after two robbers in ski goggles demanded it at knifepoint one afternoon as shocked customers looked on. It was one in a rash of armed robberies at Maine drugstores last year, a sharp increase that has rattled pharmacists and put the police on high alert.

“I want people to know before they even get in the door that we don’t have it,” Mr. Hibbard said of OxyContin, which the authorities say is the most common target of pharmacy robberies here. “Outside hiring an armed guard to be in here 24/7, I don’t know what else to do.”

Maine’s problem is especially stark, but it is hardly the only state dealing with pharmacy robberies, one of the more jarring effects of the prescription drug abuse epidemic that has left drugstores borrowing heist-prevention tactics from the more traditional targets, banks. In at least one case, a tiny tracking device affixed to a bottle let the police easily track a thief after a robbery.

More than 1,800 pharmacy robberies have taken place nationally over the last three years, typically conducted by young men seeking opioid painkillers and other drugs to sell or feed their own addictions. The most common targets are oxycodone (the main ingredient in OxyContin), hydrocodone (the main ingredient in Vicodin) and Xanax.

The robbers are brazen and desperate. In Rockland, Me., one wielded a machete as he leapt over a pharmacy counter to snatch the painkiller oxycodone, gulping some before he fled. In Satellite Beach, Fla., a robber threatened a pharmacist with a cordless drill last week, and in North Highlands, Calif., a holdup last summer led to a shootout that left a pharmacy worker dead.

The crime wave has spurred pharmacists to tighten security measures and add ones they may never have imagined. Many have upgraded their surveillance cameras; some have installed bulletproof glass and counters high enough to keep would-be robbers from jumping them, giving these pharmacies the aesthetic of an urban liquor store. In Tulsa, Okla., where there was a steep increase in drugstore robberies last year, at least one pharmacist now requires customers to be buzzed in the door.

Meanwhile, the police are quietly experimenting with new tools. In Lewiston, Me., last fall, a Rite Aid pharmacist handed a robber who threatened to shoot her five bottles of OxyContin, including one that contained a tracking device.

According to court records, the device led the police to the suspect’s home on a rural road shortly after he fled the store. They gathered evidence there, arrested the suspect a few days later and indicted him last month.

The Drug Enforcement Administration does not routinely investigate reports of pharmacy robberies, and therefore “it cannot be determined what factors are contributing to these types of thefts,” a spokeswoman said.

But some local law enforcement officials have been overwhelmed enough by the incidents to seek help. Thomas Delahanty II, the United States attorney in Maine, announced recently that the federal authorities would help investigate the heists from now on and prosecute some of the cases.

Federal charges could bring more prison time, Mr. Delahanty said, describing the surge in such robberies as “staggering numbers that can’t be ignored.” There were 21 in Maine last year, according to the D.E.A., up from two in 2008 and seven in 2009.

In Biddeford, Me., a city of 21,000 that has had seven pharmacy robberies since December 2009, Roger Beaupre, the police chief, said he was urging the stores to require customers to remove hoods and sunglasses before entering and to consider caging in their pharmacy counters.

Police officers there got free training in how to investigate pharmacy heists last month from Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. The company also trains pharmacists on how to prevent robberies and what to do should they fall victim to one, said Rick Zenuch, its director of law enforcement liaison and education.

“The very first tip we give them is comply, comply, comply,” Mr. Zenuch said. “Do exactly what the suspect wants, to end the encounter as soon as possible.”

In Washington State, where more than 100 pharmacy robberies have taken place over the last three years, law enforcement officials say the penalty for second-degree robbery, when the pharmacist may be threatened but no weapon is shown, is too weak. Dan Satterberg, the King County prosecutor, said he had submitted a bill to the Legislature to increase the minimum jail time to three years from three months.

“Word travels fast on the street about what an easy target the pharmacies are and how much profit can be made and what small punishment is attached,” Mr. Satterberg said.

OxyContin goes for $1 a milligram on the street, Mr. Satterberg and other law enforcement officials said, and the most popular pill is 80 milligrams.

Many pharmacies in Washington have deterred would-be robbers by putting time-release locks on the safes where they store narcotics and staggering their inventory, Mr. Satterberg said. Perhaps as a result, the number of armed robberies at pharmacies there dropped to 23 in 2010 from 49 in 2008, according to the D.E.A.

Still, Mr. Satterberg said, the threat of robbery has made it difficult for retail chains in the state to recruit enough pharmacists in recent years.

“They feel very vulnerable when so many people are so desperate to get what they keep behind those counters,” he said.

In sheer numbers, Florida, Indiana, California, Ohio and Washington have had the most armed robberies of pharmacies since January 2008, according to the D.E.A. But Maine, Oklahoma and Oregon had the sharpest increases last year.

All but a handful of the Maine robberies took place at Rite Aid and CVS stores, some of which were hit multiple times.

In Tulsa, Okla., where pharmacy robberies last year far outpaced bank robberies, the police said the crimes were now more often committed by gangs who want to sell the drugs than addicts in search of a fix. Robbers there often demand Xanax, an anti anxiety drug, along with opioids, said Sgt. Dave Walker, who runs the robbery unit of the Tulsa Police Department.

In Bingham, a remote town of about 1,000, the men who robbed Mr. Hibbard’s pharmacy, E.W. Moore & Son, were caught and sent to prison, as was another robber who held up the store at gunpoint in 2006. But despite that comforting fact and the store’s nine surveillance cameras and high-tech alarm system, Mr. Hibbard and his employees still jump when the place is quiet and they hear footsteps coming up the ramp, they said.

“I stood right between him and his knife,” said Lori Pratt, a pharmacy technician, referring to one of the robbers. “I was all ready to go on the Internet after it happened and get a Taser gun.”

Unlike Mr. Hibbard, Rite Aid has chosen to keep stocking the drugs that are popular with robbers, said Eric Harkreader, a spokesman. But the company now limits the amount of certain drugs in stores at any given time.

“If they are going for lots of quantity at once, we don’t want to help them out,” he said. “But we certainly want to have the prescription available for all its legitimate purposes.”

In Biddeford, a Rite Aid that was robbed twice last year was struck again last week. The suspect, who demanded OxyContin and fled into the night, remains at large.

Oxycodone is the leading cause of drug overdose deaths locally

2011-12-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

Oxycodone was the leading cause of drug overdose deaths in Sarasota, Manatee and Desoto counties in the first half of 2010, according to an interim report issued Thursday.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Florida Medical Examiners released the report examining approximately 89,800 deaths in Florida between January and June of this year.

Out of those deaths, 4,150 people were found to have died with one or more drugs in their bodies.

Drugs that were ruled as the cause of death in the 12^thMedical Examiner District, which includes Manatee County, are as follows:

Oxycodone: 46 deaths
Alprazolam: 38 deaths
Methadone: 25 deaths
Cocaine: 20 deaths
Diazepam: 11 deaths
Morphine: 5 deaths
Hydrocodone: 4 deaths
Propoxyphene: 1 death
Heroin: 1 death

Statewide, the drugs that caused the most deaths were Oxycodone (715); all Benzodiazepines (597); which includes Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, (439) accounting for a majority of deaths; Methadone (336); Ethyl Alcohol (270); and cocaine (250), according to a released statement.

“Medical Examiners Commission report for the first six months of 2010 continues to show the lethal consequences of the diversion and abuse of prescription drugs,” said Bruce Grant, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control in a released statement. “This new drug crisis rivals the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s. We must get agencies at all levels of government along with our communities and our medical professionals to step up and take action.”

In many cases multiple drugs were found in decedents' bodies, according to report, showing people sometimes died from a combination of drugs.

Statewide, heroin is the most lethal drug in the report, however, cases decreased by 40 percent compared to the last six months of 2009. Occurrences of Oxycodone increased by 10.9 percent for the same time period, according to the report.

Drug Is Harder to Abuse, but Users Persevere

2011-12-07T06:05:00.000-08:00

Michael Capece had been snorting OxyContin for five years when a new version of the drug, intended to deter such abuse, hit the market last summer. The reformulated pills are harder to crush, turning instead into a gummy substance that cannot be easily snorted, injected or chewed.

Instructed by his dealer, Mr. Capece, 21, tried microwaving one of the new pills, then sniffing up the burnt remains. Other addicts have tried to defeat the new formula by freezing, baking or soaking the pills in solvents ranging from soda to acetone. Many are ending up frustrated.

“It’s too much work,” said Mr. Capece who entered a rehab program here last month. “It wasn’t anything I enjoyed.”

A powerful narcotic meant for cancer patients and others with searing pain, OxyContin is designed to slowly release its active ingredient, oxycodone, over 12 hours. But after it was introduced in 1996, drug abusers quickly discovered that chewing an OxyContin tablet — or crushing one and snorting the powder, or injecting it with a needle — produced an instant high as powerful as heroin. It has been blamed for waves of addiction that have ravaged certain regions of the country, and has been a factor in many overdose deaths.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, may have succeeded for now in reducing illicit demand for its reformulated drug. But in several dozen interviews over the last few months, drug abuse experts, law enforcement officials and addicts said the reformulation had only driven up interest for other narcotics.

Demand appears especially high for pure oxycodone pills that come in a 30-milligram dose, often called “Perc 30s” or “Roxies” on the street. Opana, a time-release painkiller similar to OxyContin that has been on the market for five years, is showing up increasingly in police reports and has been blamed for a rash of overdose deaths. And heroin use has jumped sharply in many regions, according to rehab centers and the police.

“It’s just a matter of switching,” said John Burke, commander of the drug task force in Warren County, Ohio, and president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. “If I’m an addict, I’m going to find a drug that works.”

Mr. Burke said abuse of other oxycodone drugs was already growing before OxyContin was reformulated last August, partly because the other drugs are cheaper and because OxyContin had become harder to find on the street. Many doctors had stopped prescribing it because of its stigma and switched to other oxycodone drugs, Mr. Burke said.

Raymond V. Tamasi, president and chief executive of Gosnold on Cape Cod, a treatment center, said he had noticed that addicts switch initially to the Perc 30s.

“But eventually people make that progression from the pills to what appears to be a more economical high, which is heroin,” Mr. Tamasi said.

Prices vary, but 30-milligram oxycodone tablets generally sell on the street for $20 to $30 each, according to addicts and law enforcement officials. The old OxyContin sold for as much as $80 per 80-milligram pill. Several recovering addicts in Massachusetts said an 80-milligram tablet of the reformulated version, called OxyContin OP, costs about $40.

“You don’t make any money selling the OPs,” said James Moore, 28, who said he stopped selling and snorting OxyContin and moved on to heroin after the new version came out last year.

Mr. Moore, who said he used to snort as many as 10 OxyContin pills daily, was arrested in November for selling heroin and now lives at a halfway house in East Boston. Addicts can still get high from swallowing the new OxyContin pills, he said, but most prefer the immediate rush delivered by snorting or injecting the powder.

Outside of OxyContin, which comes in doses as high as 80 milligrams, the 30-milligram dose is the highest available for oxycodone, which is why addicts covet it.

Some addicts are reporting an even more powerful high from Opana, a time-release opiate painkiller whose active ingredient is oxymorphone. In Louisville, Ky., there have been at least 14 deaths this year involving Opana, according to the Jefferson County coroner’s office.

Purdue Pharma should have reformulated OxyContin sooner, said Steven Tolman, a state senator in Massachusetts who led a commission that investigated OxyContin abuse. The company asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve the new version for sale in November 2007; it won the approval in April 2010. It is the first painkiller reformulated to deter abuse, according to the F.D.A., which is now studying several proposed reformulations of other opiate drugs.

“It should not clear their conscience,” Mr. Tolman said of the change. “These people are scientists. Why didn’t they do this years ago?”

Not everyone is convinced that the days of abusing OxyContin are over. The F.D.A. is requiring Purdue Pharma to conduct clinical trials before it can claim that the new version is less abuse-prone. Though many addicts appear frustrated by the reformulation, Dr. Mark Publicker, an addiction medicine specialist at Mercy Recovery Center in Westbrook, Me., said he was “absolutely certain” that people would figure out how to abuse the new OxyContin.

“I like to think of them as drug addict scientists in white lab coats,” he said, pointing to Web sites where drug abusers debate various ways of trying to defeat the new formulation.

Libby Holman, a Purdue Pharma spokeswoman, said that based on initial data and reports, the company is “cautiously optimistic” that the reformulation will eventually prove less susceptible to abuse. But long-term studies will be necessary, she said in an e-mail, adding, “It is still too early to make any conclusions about the product’s impact on abuse and misuse in real-world settings.”

The company has initiated eight epidemiological studies and will report updates to the F.D.A., which approved their design, Ms. Holman said. Meanwhile, the new OxyContin pills have won some unflattering nicknames, said Dr. Ronald Bugaoan, director of psychiatric services at the High Point Treatment Center in Brockton.

“They call them gummies because when you chew them up they get stuck between your teeth,” he said. “They call them jellynoses because when you try to snort it up they get stuck. They cake in the nose.”

Mr. Moore, the recovering addict in East Boston, said that it was possible to snort the new OxyContin but that it took about an hour to break it down.

“It’s like doing a science project,” he said, “sitting there with a scraper, a knife, a razor blade, like it’s a frog or something.”

How to Prevent a Painkiller Addiction

2011-12-02T05:12:00.000-08:00

Some people keep popping pain pills even after the pain is gone — and some take the drugs simply for the "high." Could you or a loved one be at risk for a painkiller overdose?

Painkiller abuse is more than just a problem in the United States — new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that it could be an epidemic.

Every year, about 15,000 people die from an overdose involving painkillers. But it’s not just patients with pain problems who are abusing the drugs. According to the CDC report, about 12 million Americans aged 12 or older reported nonmedical use of painkillers in 2010 — that’s one in every 20 people in the United States.

What’s going on? Though most painkillers are prescribed for medical purposes, the drugs oftentimes find themselves in the wrong hands. But it doesn’t matter if the misuse is medical or recreational — painkiller addiction is a very serious problem. Here’s what you should know.

Commonly Abused Types of Painkillers

Prescription painkillers that are often abused include:

* Hydrocodone (Vicodin, Lortab, Xodol, and more)

* Oxycodone (OxyContin, Percolone, Oxyfast, and more)

* Morphine

* Fentanyl

* Codeine

These pain relievers are usually prescribed to manage acute or chronic pain and, if they are handled correctly, should not lead to abuse or addiction.

6 Signs of Painkiller Addiction

“Signs of addiction are somewhat of a gray area,” says James Zacny, PhD, professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago and a drug-dependence researcher.

This is largely because pain is subjective, and it can be difficult to know whether the medication has failed to control a person’s pain or whether that person is lying about pain in order to get more painkillers.

Some of the signs of painkiller addiction include:

· Running out of a prescription early

· Saying the prescription is “lost”

· Using multiple doctors to get pain medications (a very strong sign)

· Asking for a specific painkiller by name (“Doc, I need OxyContin — that is the only drug that will touch my pain … Vicodin has no effect, codeine makes me throw up.”)

· Going to the emergency room in between doctor visits to get more of the drug

· “Borrowing” pain medication from others

Do You Still Need Your Pain Medication?

Many people with chronic pain will need prescription pain relievers for a long time. People who are addicted, however, ask for painkillers even when they are not in pain anymore. Problem is, it can be hard to tell whether pain or painkiller addiction is driving the request for more medication.

“There is no biological marker of pain. It is subjective and you have to rely on what the patient says,” explains Zacny. “A doctor might become a bit wary of further prescribing if a person comes in at the first visit initially rating the pain as a 10 on a scale of 0 to 10, where 10 is worst pain imaginable. Then, on subsequent visits the patient continues to rate the pain as 10, has not made any positive lifestyle changes, and continues to still want the drug.”

Doctors may have to look at other signs of the success (or failure) of pain relievers in a patient’s life. For example, Zacny says that chronic pain can make it hard to sleep. One way that pain relievers improve quality of life is by making it possible to sleep. So a person who claims the pain is still at level 10, but admits to sleeping fairly well may not need additional pain relievers.

A doctor can use a tool called the McGill Pain Questionnaire to find out more about a person’s pain. The survey asks about details such as how the pain feels (burning, stable, throbbing, flickering, sharp, pinching), where it is on a chart of the body, how the pain affects the person emotionally, and whether it is internal or external.

How to Say ‘No’ to Pain Medications

Saying no to a patient who may have a painkiller addiction is very challenging, Zacny says. One way that doctors do so, with little guilt or regret, is by using a prescription monitoring system; this allows them to find out whether a patient has asked for similar medications from another doctor. Some doctors provide contracts for patients to sign, agreeing not to see any other doctor for pain relievers and to participate in regular urine tests.

A doctor can also use a short survey called the SOAPP-R to determine whether a patient is at risk for painkiller addiction. The survey asks questions such as, “How often have you counted pain pills to see how many are remaining?” as well as questions about mood and coping at home.

This is all well and good for doctors — but what if you're worried about a loved one's painkiller use?

Wilson Compton, MD, MPE, division director, division of epidemiology, services, and prevention research at the National Institute of Drug Abuse, advises planning ahead for when you have to say no, which means working with the patient's doctor or home health nurse in advance to clearly identify when it's okay to give more pain meds, like after being unusually physically active, for whatever reason.

This way, when the patient wants more drugs, the caregiver can say, “No, this is not a situation that we all agreed to before.” If the caregiver suspects tolerance is developing, she can work with the doctor to find a new pain reliever regimen that will control the pain.

Compton also suggests using the online National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) screening tool to help figure out whether the request is part of addictive behavior or due to a genuine need.

An epidemic of painkillers

2011-11-30T06:29:00.000-08:00

Hannah Rogers had been snorting the painkiller oxycodone all day, but she needed more.

She finally found a dealer, bought more pills, crushed them and inhaled the powder.

The rush was too much for her system. She slumped on the couch, unconscious. Her lips turned blue. Friends rushed to her side, one smacking her repeatedly and pouring cold water over her. Finally, Rogers came around.

The next day, the young Pike Creek woman was back on "oxys."

Rogers, now 30 and a mother of three, eventually stopped taking drugs. Some of the people she once took pills with never turned their lives around, however.

"Zeb, Jen, Donald, Bill -- all these people close to me -- they're dead," Rogers said.

They were casualties of what the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy calls America's fastest-growing problem: prescription pill abuse, which kills someone in Delaware every other day.

The epidemic of prescription pills has hit Delaware harder than most of the country, overwhelming the ability of law enforcement, medical and regulatory officials to combat the abuse, The News Journal found during a four-month investigation. As the plague grew, the newspaper found, Delaware dragged its feet in trying to stop abusers and dealers who illegally get drugs from multiple doctors. Unlike most other states, Delaware hasn't yet tracked prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled drugs.

From Bellefonte to Bethany Beach, prescription drugs are a quiet, relentless agent of death. Opiates and anti-anxiety drugs contributed to the deaths of 354 Delawareans in 2009 and 2010. The toll far outpaces other accidental deaths -- 72 percent higher than heroin, cocaine and alcohol combined and 60 percent higher than traffic accidents.

The spiraling number of funerals mirrors the growth of the abuse.

About one in 18 Delawareans, or 51,000 people, admitted in a recent federal survey to taking prescription painkillers for non-medical uses -- the nation's 14th-highest rate.

The number of addicts receiving state-funded treatment more than quintupled from 2005 to 2011, when 1,643 abusers got help.

More: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011111060344

Prescription Pain Pill Overdoses Quadrupled In Last Decade

2011-11-29T08:05:00.000-08:00

Overdose deaths involving opioid pain relievers now exceed deaths from heroin and cocaine combined, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Prescription drug overdoses have been increasing in the United States over the last decade, and by 2008 had reached 36,450 deaths – almost as many as from motor vehicle crashes (39,973). Opioid pain reliever (OPR) sales have also increased, "despite numerous warnings and recommendations over the past decade for voluntary education of providers about more cautious use of OPR[s]," said Dr. Leonard J. Paulozzi and his associates at the CDC’s division of unintentional injury prevention.

During 1999-2008, overdose death rates, sales, and substance abuse treatment admissions related to OPRs increased in parallel, with the overdose death rate in 2008 nearly four times the rate in 1999. Sales of OPRs in 2010 were four times those in 1999. The substance abuse treatment admission rate in 2009 was almost six times the rate in 1999. By 2010, enough OPRs were sold each year to medicate every American adult with 5 mg of hydrocodone every 4 hours for 1 month, the researchers said.

The report used death rates based on the National Vital Statistics System multiple cause of death files, age adjusted to the 2000 U.S. Census population. Deaths were attributed to drug overdose in 2008 at a rate of 11.9/100,000 population. Among those, a particular drug was specified for 74.5%. Of those 27,153 deaths, prescription drugs were a factor in 73.8%. And of those 20,044, OPRs were involved in 73.8% (14,800). Drug overdose death rates were 6.5/100,000 population for all prescription drugs and 4.8/100,000 for OPRs, compared with 2.8/100,000 for illicit drugs, including heroin, cocaine, hallucinogens, and stimulants (MMWR 2011;60:1-6).

Overdose resulted in 830,652 years of potential life lost, a number comparable to that of motor vehicle crashes. Overdose deaths varied fivefold by state, ranging from 5.5/100,000 population in Nebraska to 27.0/100,000 in New Mexico.

Middle-aged whites were more likely to die of an OPR overdose, compared with other races and age groups. Deaths rates involving OPRs among non-Hispanic whites and Native Americans/Alaska Natives were three times higher than the rates for blacks and Hispanic whites. Death rates from all categories of drug overdose were highest among people aged 35-54 years.

The investigators also looked at rates of nonmedical OPR use and annual drug sales, based on data from the 2008-2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and the Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prevalence of nonmedical use of OPRs during 2008-2009 ranged from 3.6% in Nebraska to 8.1% in Oklahoma. The rate of OPR sales ranged from 3.7 kg/10,000 population in Illinois to 12.6 kg in Florida. The highest sales rates were clustered in the Southeast and the Northwest.

Differences in OPR overdose mortality by race and ethnicity can’t explain the wide variation in death rates among states, nor can demographic differences fully explain the wide variations among states in the nonmedical use and sales of OPRs. Montana and Iowa, for example, both have largely non-Hispanic white populations. However, Montana’s rate of nonmedical OPR use was 5.3% vs. Iowa’s 3.6%, and Montana’s OPR sales were 8.4 kg/10,000 population, compared with Iowa’s 4.6 kg, Dr. Paulozzi and his associates noted.

In one study, 3% of physicians accounted for 62% of the OPRs prescribed, suggesting that the high-volume prescribers can have a major impact on the use of OPRs and overdose death rates. In Florida, the proliferation of illegitimate pain clinics – also called "pill mills" – appear to have contributed to increases in overdoses in that state.

"Public health interventions to reduce prescription drug overdose must strike a balance between reducing misuse and abuse and safeguarding legitimate access to treatment. To find this balance, health care providers should only use OPR[s] in carefully screened and monitored patients when non-OPR treatments have not been sufficient to treat pain, as recommended in evidence-based guidelines," the investigators wrote.

In addition, state professional licensing boards can take action against prescribers who misuse their licenses, and law enforcement agencies can take action against illegal activities. "Concerted attempts to address this problem, especially in states with high rates of OPR sales, nonmedical use, or overdose mortality, might help control the epidemic," Dr. Paulozzi and his associates concluded.

Stop drug crisis from engulfing more babies

2011-11-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

The impacts of the region’s prescription drug abuse plague continue to mount. The terrible toll on families extends to the most innocent of victims -- babies. Florida is the epicenter of the nation’s fastest-growing drug dilemma, labeled an “epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Too many expectant mothers are too drug addled and dependent to fend off OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and other narcotics during their pregnancies. In the Tampa Bay region alone, the number of babies born addicted to powerful pain killers and other prescription drugs stood at an estimated 400 in 2010-2011. Statewide, the figure surged from 354 babies five years ago to 1,374 last year, Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration reports.

“I’m scared to death this will become the crack-baby epidemic,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi told USA Today earlier this month in a front-page article. She has asked the Legislature to form a task force to draw up prevention policies, a solid initial step in attacking this problem.

Manatee County commissioners got a earful this month, too, when representatives of the community’s substance abuse organizations and others detailed this scourge and urged preventive action. As Rita Chamberlain, coordinator of the Manatee County Substance Abuse Coalition stated, this is indeed a “crisis.”

Kim Lott, who lost her son Sam to a prescription pain pill addiction, expressed the epidemic’s heartbreaking toll on families in an emotional plea to commissioners: “Please, please stop this madness. Our children are dying at an alarming rate every day.”

Florida’s Medical Examiners Commission reports that 1,516 people died of Oxycodone overdoses alone last year, a frightening quadruple increase from 2005. Another 315 overdosed on Hydrocodone.

While the state clamped down with new restrictions on prescription purchases, a drug database and other strategies, stronger local action is warranted. Manatee County’s emergency ordinance establishing a moratorium on permits for new pain management clinics expired but remains in effect.

Commissioners should make this special permitting system, designed to thwart unscrupulous “pill mills” while allowing legitimate clinic operations, permanent. And crack down with additional provisions, including the coalition suggestion for tougher operating standards.

One of the most startling statistics the commission heard came from Donna Vallenga, executive director for SOLVE Maternity Homes in Bradenton and Englewood. A third of the women requesting help with unplanned pregnancies test positive for prescription drugs.

That figure places motherhood second to an addiction, a shameful situation. Drug babies require special medical care, which places a costly burden on society.

We urge Manatee County’s legislative delegation to support Bondi’s request for a task force to devise strategies to save babies from exposure to prescription drug exposure. We also urge county commissioners to adopt stiffer measures. This crisis must be contained.

Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2011/11/23/3673735/stop-drug-crisis-from-engulfing.html

50% of Americans Have Used Pain Killers

2011-11-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

Nearly half of all Americans have used a narcotic pain killer, according to a new Thomson Reuters-NPR Health Poll.

The survey, which asked people about their opinions and use of narcotic pain killers, found that 49.7 percent have used Oxycontin, Percocet, Vicodin or morphine. More than three-quarters believe narcotic pain killers are linked to drug addiction, and nearly a third questioned or refused their doctor’s recommendation to take the drugs.

“With such a significant number of responders having been prescribed a narcotic pain killer, our results suggest that these drugs are relatively easy to access despite the need for a physician’s prescription,” said Raymond Fabius, M.D., chief medical officer at Thomson Reuters. “It’s encouraging to see a healthy understanding of the addictive properties of narcotics, but refusing to use them when they can be helpful may cause people to experience unnecessary pain.”

Narcotic painkillers are among the most commonly used drugs in the U.S., with more than 244 million prescriptions in 2010. The drugs can help ease the pain of millions of people each year, but some doctors have questioned their use to treat chronic pain, citing a lack of evidence and serious problems with misuse.

Other findings in the survey:

• Among those who have used a painkiller, 31% said they were prescribed to treat chronic pain.

• Americans over the age of 65 were less likely to be prescribed a pain killer (37.5%) than those aged 35-64 (52.3%) or under 35 (54.2%).

• Americans with a high school education were less likely to be prescribed a pain killer (38.6%) than those with a college degree (52.4%).

• Those who have not used pain killers cited fear of addiction as their primary concern (38%), followed by association with drug abuse (24.8%), and side effects (20.4%).

Thomson Reuters and NPR conduct the monthly poll to gauge attitudes and opinions on a wide range of health issues. 3,000 Americans were surveyed in the telephone poll conducted during the first half of October.

Painkiller overdose deaths triple in U.S.

2011-11-22T05:09:00.000-08:00

The number of overdose deaths from powerful painkillers more than tripled over a decade -- a trend that a U.S. health official called an epidemic, but one that can be stopped.

Prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and methadone led to the deaths of almost 15,000 people in 2008, including actor Heath Ledger. That's more than three times the 4,000 deaths from narcotics in 1999.

Such painkillers are meant to help people who have severe pain, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, which issued the report in November.

"They are, however, highly addictive," he said.

The report shows that nearly 5 percent of Americans ages 12 and older said they've abused painkillers in the past year -- using them without a prescription or just for the high. In 2008-09 surveys, Oklahomans reported the highest rate of abuse; Nebraska and Iowa had the lowest rate of abuse.

The overdose deaths reflect the spike in the number of narcotic painkillers prescribed every year -- enough to give every American a one-month supply, Frieden said.

Prescriptions rose as doctors aimed to better treat pain and as new painkillers hit the market.

Frieden and White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske, who joined him at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, said states must act forcefully to reverse the long-running trend.

States oversee prescription practices and can rigorously monitor prescriptions and crack down on "pill mills" and "doctor shopping" by patients, Frieden said.

Doctors should limit prescriptions -- giving only a three-day supply for acute pain, for example -- and should look for alternative treatments, he said.

"For chronic pain, narcotics should be the last resort," he said.

A federal drug plan announced this year calls for state programs to track prescriptions.

All but two states -- Missouri and New Hampshire -- have approved them, Kerlikowske said. But several states don't have them in place yet or doctors aren't using them enough to check on their patients' past prescriptions, he said.

"America's prescription drug abuse epidemic is not a problem that's going to be solved overnight, but at the same time, we're not powerless," said Kerlikowske, who urged parents to get rid of unneeded or expired painkillers so they aren't misused.

Some states are acting. Earlier this month, a doctor in Southern California was sentenced to prison for illegally selling tens of thousands of prescriptions for painkillers and sedative. Ohio now requires pain clinics to be licensed by the state, and limits the amount of pills that can be dispensed at clinics. Florida also has cracked down on so-called "pill mills."

Overall, there were 36,450 fatal overdoses in 2008, including accidental cases and suicides involving illegal drugs like heroin and cocaine along with prescription medicines. About three-quarters of the deaths from prescriptions involved narcotic painkillers.

That's the year Ledger died from an accidental overdose of painkillers and sedatives. A few months later, a 12-year-old girl from suburban New York overdosed on methadone she bought from a 15-year-old boy.

Narcotics also factored in the recent deaths of a 27-year-old model at the mansion of an Anheuser-Busch heir and of former hockey player Derek Boogaard.

Feds Resist Control For Hydrocodone

2011-11-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

It is the nation's second-most abused medicine, linked to murders, celebrity overdoses and a rising tide of violent pharmacy robberies. But since 1999 federal regulators have put off deciding whether to tighten controls over hydrocodone, the addictive narcotic that is the key ingredient in Vicodin and other medicines.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Food and Drug Administration insist they are still actively studying whether to move hydrocodone-containing medicines from the Schedule III category of medicines to the more restrictive Schedule II. But the 12-year delay is frustrating drug treatment counselors, lawmakers and relatives of overdose victims.

"They're not doing a darn thing," said Robert DuPont, president of the Institute for Behavior and Health, a Rockville, Md.-based think tank. "There's no study that takes 12 years. When you think how many people have died of hydrocodone overdoses, it's inexcusable."

Nationally, emergency room visits related to non-medical hydrocodone use have quadrupled since 2000 — from 19,221 to 86,258 in 2009. In Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and contributed to 1,803 others between 2003 and 2007. Actors Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy and Corey Haim all died from drug cocktails containing it.

A DEA review of police drug labs shows seizures of hydrocodone-containing pills number second only to those of oxycodone, the narcotic used in drugs like OxyContin and Percocet. Hydrocodone seizures have soared from 13,659 in 2001 to 44,815 in 2010.

In March, alarmed by the rising rates of abuse, 58 members of Congress filed a bill that would bypass the DEA and FDA's rulemaking process and tighten controls on hydrocodone. "The FDA is about controlling dangerous drugs, and they're just not doing their job here," said Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., one of the bill's sponsors.

Legitimate pain patients, meanwhile, are worried that such a move could jack up their medical expenses by forcing them to repeatedly return to their doctors for refills. They also worry doctors will be afraid to prescribe needed medicines for fear of attracting FDA scrutiny. The DEA and FDA have refused to release any documents from the 12 years of study.

But an Associated Press review of hundreds of pages of other regulatory documents and court filings mentioning the study show it has been repeatedly passed back and forth between the two agencies, with no final decision taken. In fact, it took weeks for each agency to pin down the status of the review after repeated AP requests.

Hydrocodone is a painkiller that is chemically similar and almost as strong as oxycodone, the active ingredient in the drug OxyContin. Pills that combine oxycodone with another painkiller like acetaminophen or aspirin are strictly controlled as Schedule II drugs. The category includes products like Percocet and Percodan.

But their hydrocodone equivalents like Vicodin, Norco and Lortab fall under the less-restrictive Schedule III. The legal difference dates from 1970, when hydrocodone was mainly used as a cough suppressant instead of a painkiller and scientists knew less about how narcotics work on the human body. But the classification has led to dramatic differences in the way the drugs are regulated.

"There was a misunderstanding about hydrocodone's potency," said Andrew Kolodny, president of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, an advocacy group that wants controls on the drug increased. "They made a terrible mistake."

Schedule II drugs must be kept under lock and key at pharmacies, doctors can only prescribe one bottle at a time, and patients must have an original prescription slip with them. State punishments for abusers are severe, and traffickers can face up to 20 years in prison for the first offense under federal law.

In contrast, prescriptions for Schedule III medications can be refilled up to six times without a doctor visit, and doctors can renew prescriptions by phone or fax. And the penalties for abusing Schedule III drugs are lighter: a maximum 10 years for first-time traffickers under federal law.

States have their own drug schedules for punishing abusers and lower-level drug dealers, but they usually mirror the federal categories.

Drug treatment clinics have been warning about the dangers of easier access to hydrocodone since the early 1990s, and in 1999 the DEA agreed to review whether combination products containing it should be rescheduled.

Twelve years later, the DEA and FDA say they are still in the preliminary stages of that review.

"DEA is following the process outlined in the (Controlled Substances Act), and we will act as that process unfolds," spokeswoman Barbara Carreno said.

"It's the nature of the process; it takes time," said Shelly Burgess, an FDA spokeswoman.

Meanwhile, addicts are increasingly turning to hydrocodone as states crack down on sales of oxycodone products, Kolodny said. The boom was underscored in June, when a man walked into a pharmacy on New York's.

Read more: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpps/news/feds-resist-control-for-hydrocodone-dpgapx-km-20110820_14649562

Another dangerous drug hits the market: Oxytocin Injection

2011-11-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

Another dangerous drug has found its way on to the various markets in Ghana, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has warned.

The drug, Oxytocin Injection, according to the FDB, is unregistered and substandard, and can therefore, cause harmful implications to the body. Oxytocin injection is said to be used to induce labour and prevent or control excessive bleeding in women after delivery.

The said product was manufactured in China by Sinochem Ningbo Limited, and imported into the country by Daamas Company Limited.

The product has the following particulars:

Batch Number: 101011

Manufacturing Date: 10/2010

Expiry Date: 10/2013

According to the FDB, laboratory analysis it conducted on the said product revealed that the product did not meet the quality requirements, with regards to the active ingredients.

During preliminary investigations, the FDB said Daamas Company Limited claimed the substandard Oxytocin Injection was supplied by a Nigerian, but failed to disclose his or her identity.

The FDB, in a statement signed by its Chief Executive, Dr. Stephen Opuni, and copied to The Chronicle newspaper, yesterday said an official of Daamas Company Limited had been arrested by the police, and was assisting in investigations.

It, therefore, cautioned hospital, clinics, maternity homes and pharmacies, to desist from buying and stocking the unregistered and substandard Oxytocin Injection.

The Food and Drugs Board assured the general public that it would continue to do all within its powers to execute its mandate to protect public health and safety at all times.

Source: http://ghanaian-chronicle.com/?p=37710

Rescheduling Hydrocodone

2011-11-16T05:40:00.000-08:00

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) took under consideration a public petition to reclassify hydrocodone combination products (Vicodin, Lortab, and Norco, for example) from schedule III to schedule II drugs -- attempting to put them in a more tightly regulated category that's already home to almost all other opioid painkillers, including oxycodone (OxyContin) and morphine.

Today, the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services -- via the FDA -- are still reviewing that request.

It's not clear why the process has gone on so long, but researchers close to the situation say the FDA has been slow to complete its part of the review.

Some speculate that could be attributable to the agency's ties to pain advocacy groups like the American Pain Foundation. The agency said it is taking into account the potential for unintended consequences of rescheduling, such as decreased access to pain medication, as it makes its final recommendation to DEA.

"Areas of mutual concern [between the DEA and FDA] are the negative effects that additional controls will have on patients in acquiring this essential medicine, and whether hydrocodone's contribution to the problem of prescription drug abuse can be meaningfully reduced by restricting patient ease of access," FDA spokesperson Shelly Burgess said in an email.

But Dr. Andrew Kolodny, chair of the psychiatry department at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the criteria for determining scheduling set forth in the Controlled Substances Act relate only to abuse potential and other biochemical properties.

"Access issues are not part of the Controlled Substances Act," Kolodny said. "The decision should be based purely on qualities inherent in the drug."

Multiple studies have shown that hydrocodone is just as addictive as its opiate cousins oxycodone, heroin, and morphine.

At the same time, national data have revealed that hydrocodone-related emergency room visits have been on the rise, and the latest figures from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration show a clear trend in first-time use: Far more people report having their first opioid encounters with hydrocodone than with oxycodone -- effectively making it the "gateway" drug into potential opioid addiction.

Researchers say that's probably because it's much easier to obtain, given its lax scheduling.

"Obviously not everyone [who uses hydrocodone recreationally] is going to become addicted," Kolodny said. "But if you want to get the opioid epidemic under control, start by [diminishing the pool]."

Still, the FDA maintains that "abuse indicators show that hydrocodone product abuse is not at the same level as oxycodone, fentanyl, methadone, and other Schedule II drugs," Burgess said.

Several groups have launched efforts to push the re-scheduling along. Last month, the American Society of Addiction Medicine sent a letter to FDA commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg urging the agency to up-schedule hydrocodone products -- though the group has not yet received a response.

Around the same time, New York state senator Kemp Hannon introduced a bill to move hydrocodone combo products to a schedule II drug in that state.

The actions came on the heels of a massacre at a Long Island, N.Y., drugstore in which four people were killed as the perpetrator ran off with thousands of hydrocodone pills.

Ultimately, up-scheduling would impose harsher punishment for possession, and would toughen restrictions on prescribing. Currently, hydrocodone combo products are lumped in with agents such as anesthetics and anabolic steroids, and prescriptions can even be called in over the phone.

Hydrocodone alone is a schedule II drug, but it almost always appears in combination with acetaminophen, as the well-known Vicodin, Norco, and Lortab. Researchers say that 40 years ago, the DEA put the drug into the lower class because it figured patients wouldn't want to use too much and risk liver injury, an established side effect of acetaminophen -- but they say that hasn't been the case.

There's currently no time frame for the official re-scheduling of hydrocodone products; some question whether another 12 years will go by before any action is taken.

Read this story on www.medpagetoday.com.

Oxycodone use on the rise throughout province

2011-11-10T03:27:00.000-08:00

Communities across Ontario are experiencing a rise in the number of individuals who abuse narcotic drugs such as OxyContin, a brand of oxycodone.

The growing epidemic has resulted in a crackdown across the province by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Sandy Adams, media relations and community service officer for the Haliburton Highlands OPP detachment, presented information on the issue to members of the local human services and justice coordinating committee of the Haliburton Highlands on Nov. 2.

"The misuse of oxycontin is not just happening in Haliburton County, but everywhere," said Adams.

Originally developed for terminally ill individuals, oxycodone is legal to have, however, has increasingly become abused.

Available by prescription, the painkiller medication is typically prescribed to cancer patients or those experiencing excruciating pain from things such as third degree burns.

"It's very good for pain management and is still being used," said Adams.

Narcotics such as oxycodone provide pain relief for about 12 hours, compared to a painkiller such as Percocet, which provides approximately five hours of relief.

With a lesser affect than Percocet, oxycodone is highly addictive and is comparable to heroin, said Adams.

"OxyContin doesn't contain acetaminophen, it is made up of pure oxycodone," she said.

The make-up of the drug results in a slow release of medication.

"One OxyContin can contain the same amount of oxycodone as 16 Percocet pills," said Adams.

Adams maintains the pill is not dangerous when taken as prescribed, only resulting in an issue if taken when not prescribed.

"People are looking to get a rush," said Adams of why the drug is being misused.

In recent years the OPP have seen an increase in deaths as a result of an overdose of OxyContin, she said.

Those who are addicted will experience withdrawal if they stop taking it, resulting in flu-like symptoms experienced on a much larger scale, said Adams.

Those addicted to the drug are gaining possession of it in a number of ways, including doctors' over-prescribing and robbery from pharmacies and homes.

"Having someone else's OxyContin is a crime," said Adams.

The OPP are continually on the lookout for signs of trafficking, which include possessing a fake ID card, secretive or suspicious behaviour and large amounts of cash.

"We're not talking about hundreds, but thousands of dollars," said Adams.

Other suspicious behaviour from those trafficking the drug includes an individual owning multiple cellphones, frequently wearing hooded sweatshirts to cover their face and violence.

It is difficult for police to determine what the average price of OxyContin is as the price is established by a variety of factors such as geography and supply, said Adams.

Oxycodone-related deaths in Ontario have been on the rise over the past five years, with the number of deaths in 2008 double the tally for 2004, said Adams.

"This is because of availability."

Adams has suspected the number has increased since 2008, as the problem is now reaching epidemic proportions according to medical practitioners.

"The more information we can get out there about this drug the healthier and better off the community will be," she said.

Oxycontin addiction on the rise in Greater Sudbury

2011-11-09T07:41:00.000-08:00

Police say addicts are shifting from illicit drugs to prescription narcotics

Greater Sudbury police and community outreach workers say prescription narcotics have become the drug of choice in the city.

They say a growing number of people are getting hooked on pain pills like Oyxcontin.

“I think we are at a crisis,” said Vicki Kett, who works with Reseau Access Network, an HIV and Hepatitis agency . “But it's so easy to say it's not happening to me.”

According to Kett, there are a growing number of people in Sudbury who are snorting, smoking and injecting prescription pills.

“They've had a big hold on me,” said Oyxcontin addict Felicity.

CBC has agreed to use only her first name.

“I started prostituting myself, everyday, all day long,” the 31-year-old mother of two said.

“I would go out there in winter when there is snowstorms going to make money to buy these pills."

Greater Sudbury police Chief Frank Elsner said there's been a shift in the drug of choice, from illicit drugs like crack and cocaine, to prescription pain pills.

“There's not the same stigma with pharmaceutical drug as with cocaine,” he said.

“Somehow people think, because it's a pharmaceutical drug, you can get a prescription for, it's far safer.”

Growing number of Oxy-related arrests

But Felicity knows it's not safer.

She is now HIV positive and no longer has custody of her two children. She watched her sister die after years of drug abuse.

The experience was a turning point and she is now seeking treatment.

“I want to see my kids grow up and get married and finish school and all that,” she said.

“And I know if I keep going down that path it won't happen.”

She is not yet completely clean, but she said she hopes sharing her story will prevent someone else from experimenting with pills.

Sudbury has seen a jump in the number of possession and trafficking offences related to prescription narcotics such as Oxycontin.

“What we are seeing is that it is cheap for urban youth to get a hold of this [and] that anybody can get it,” Elsner said.

The number of arrests involving prescription narcotics in Sudbury has tripled since 2006. The number of offences related to cocaine has dropped by a similar amount over the same time period.

Offenses related to cannabis remain the most prevalent.

Police officials say statistics on offences show basic trends. However, when enforcement efforts are focused on certain areas, it can lead to a rise in the number of arrests.

OxyContin more abused than crack

2011-11-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

OxyContin, the widely prescribed painkiller, has overtaken crack cocaine as Ottawa's most commonly abused drug, a residential drug treatment centre says.

OxyContin is a slow-release form of oxycodone and similar to morphine in its effect and addictiveness. When the drug is chewed or crushed and inhaled, it produces a rapid "heroin-like effect euphoria," according to Health Canada.

"It's a whole warm sensation throughout your body," said Jamie Walsh, a recovered OxyContin addict. "All your troubles, all your worries fade away."

Staff at the city's Harvest House, which has offered a variety of rehabilitation programs for more than 30 years, said that six years ago, most residents in the drug program were getting treatment for addiction to crack cocaine.

Now, OxyContin is the most common drug addiction among residents, and the trend is growing, said Chris Leduc, a member of the program staff at Harvest House. OxyContin, also known as "hillbilly heroin," is easy to obtain, which is the major reason it's become the narcotic of choice, he said.

"Anyone can go to a doctor and pretty well get a prescription if they have the right story," Leduc said.

In 2007-08, Ontario doctors prescribed $54 million in OxyContin.

Critics say the drug is given out too freely, a phenomenon related to double doctoring — people who visit multiple doctors complaining of pain symptoms to obtain the narcotic for resale purposes.

The OxyContin market is lucrative, with pills selling for about $4 each at a pharmacy, but often for 10 times that much on the street. Leduc said the high profit margin on the pills has led to more pharmacy robberies in the city, including two on the same night in late February..

"[The burglars] are not asking for cash," he said. "They're asking specifically for drugs, and the drug that they're most specifically asking for is OxyContin."

Anjali Baichwal, a spokeswoman for the Ontario College of Pharmacists, said OxyContin theft is an issue across the province.

"Unfortunately, it is something we've seen a lot of activity in," Baichwal said, adding that the college encourages pharmacists to work with their local police to try to prevent theft.

Between 2004 and 2009, more than 450 people are estimated to have died in Ontario from overdoses involving oxycodone.

In February 2009, the Ontario Health Ministry announced it would lead a national investigation into OxyContin use and its potential abuse. Last November, Deb Matthews, the provincial minister of health, said Ontario is looking to impose new guidelines for medical professionals prescribing the drug and introduce a tracking system to help curb double doctoring.

OxyContin maker sends phase-out notice

2011-11-07T04:40:00.000-08:00

The company that makes OxyContin has informed Newfoundland and Labrador's medical regulator the controversial drug will be phased out and replaced with a safer drug called OxyNEO.

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Newfoundland and Labrador said Purdue Pharma Canada sent out a letter on Oct. 27, advising that the company is currently developing plans for an "orderly introduction" of OxyNEO and the withdrawal of OxyContin.

According to Purdue Pharma Canada, the new drug will still include oxycodone but is formulated in a way that will be "more difficult to be manipulated for the purpose of misuse and abuse."

The notice on the college's website did not give a timeline on the planned phase-out. The college said it will forward any information it receives to medical practitioners as the information becomes available.

Purdue Pharma Canada was not immediately available for comment Friday.

OxyContin is a drug that slowly releases oxycodone when it is used as prescribed. When OxyContin is chewed or crushed, injected and inhaled, it produces a rapid "heroin-like effect euphoria," according to Health Canada. It is similar to morphine in its effect and addictiveness.

Last month, a federal report said OxyNEO was marketed in the United States in April as a "difficult-to-crush tablet that when hydrated, forms a viscous gel that resists oxycodone extraction for injection purposes."

"Having received a notice of compliance from Health Canada in August 2011, OxyNEO will be replacing OxyContin on the Canadian market prompting questions regarding its ability to deter abuse, how to integrate the new formulation into clinical practice, and how to identify candidates for therapy," the report said.

Between 2004 and 2009, more than 450 people are estimated to have died in Ontario from overdoses involving oxycodone.

Narcotic Pain Medications

2011-11-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

For severe episodes of low back pain or neck pain, narcotic pain medications (also referred to as opioids) may be prescribed. Clearly, narcotic agents are strong and potentially addictive forms of medication and should only be administered by a physician.

All narcotic agents have a dissociative effect that helps patients manage pain. It does not actually deaden the pain, but works to dissociate patients from the pain. Commonly used narcotics, listed in ascending order of potency (strength) include:

* Codeine (e.g. Tylenol #3)

* Hydrocodone (e.g. Vicodin)

* Oxycodone (e.g. Percocet, Oxycontin)

In general, narcotic medications can be highly effective in treating back pain for short periods of time (less than two weeks). After the initial two weeks, the body rapidly builds a natural tolerance to narcotic medications and they lose their effectiveness. While some physicians believe that narcotics can be used long-term at low doses to treat chronic pain, narcotics are most commonly used to treat severe acute (short-term) low back pain or post-operative pain.

Narcotic Hydrocodone Abuse On The Rise

2011-11-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Health agencies and drug counselors are warning of a dramatic and dangerous rise in the abuse of medicines containing the narcotic hydrocodone, including Vicodin, Norco and Lortab.

Around the country, police seizures of hydrocodone-containing pills are second only to those of oxycodone, the related narcotic used in drugs like OxyContin and Percocet, according to a Drug Enforcement Administration review of police laboratories. Total seizures of hydrocodone pills rose from 13,659 in 2001 to 44,815 in 2010.

About 8 percent of the nation's 12th-graders have abused hydrocodone in the last year, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

There are few national figures on deaths because many states lump hydrocodone, oxycodone and other opiates together when tallying fatal overdoses. But one study showed that in Florida alone, hydrocodone caused 910 deaths and was present in the bodies of 1,803 others between 2003 and 2007.

The increase is part of a growing wave of prescription drug abuse nationwide, the DEA says.

Pharmacy robberies have nearly doubled from 380 in 2006 to 686 in 2010, as drug dealers and desperate addicts turn to violence to get their drugs.

Drug Is Harder to Abuse, but Users Persevere

2011-10-31T15:30:00.000-07:00