OxyContin

General Information and Effects

Rx for Death: Patients in Pain Overdosing in Alarming Numbers
by Fred Schulte and Nancy McVicar
A Sun-Sentinel investigation documented 393 prescription drug-related deaths over the past two years in the seven-county area stretching from Okeechobee to Miami-Dade County. The drugs showing up most often are OxyContin and its, generic form oxycodone. In the past year alone, prescription drug-related deaths in the region rose by 71 percent, from 145 to 248.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-0512oxymain.story

OxyAbuseKills.com
The purpose of this web site is to bring awareness on how easy it is to overdose on Oxycontin (Oxys), its other abuse dangers, and the dangers of prescription drug abuse.This extensive web site contains frequently asked questions, updates, information on deaths related to this drug, withdrawal stories, as well as help links. The site is dedicated to the memory of Eddie Bisch, an 18-year-old who fell victim to OxyContin's deadly effects.
http://www.oxyabusekills.com/

General Information on OxyContin
OxyContin has been approved for the treatment of moderate to severe pain which requires treatment for more than a few days, such as the pain associated with musculoskeletal conditions. This article reviews the side effects associated with this opioid analgesic.
http://leflaw.com/investigations/oxycontin/

Clinical Pharmacology
Oxycodone is a pure agonist opioid whose principal therapeutic action is analgesia. This brief article describes the effects on the central nervous system as well as the gastrointestinal tract.
http://leflaw.com/investigations/oxycontin/

Working to Prevent the Diversion and Abuse of OxyContin® by the Drug Enforcement Administration
The DEA addresses the growing concern among federal, state, and local officials about the dramatic increase in the illicit activity and abuse of the prescription drug OxyContin. This article outlines the DEA's effort to prevent diversion of OxyContin.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: Drug Enforcement Administration.
http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugs_concern/oxycodone/oxy_public_new.pdf

US: FDA Panel Will Study Uproar Over Oxycontin
Since being approved in 1995, OxyContin has become one of America's most prescribed medicines for chronic pain, reportedly with sales of $1 billion last year. OxyContin is a synthetic morphine, an opioid like Percocet or Vicodin. The key to OxyContin is its timed-release formula, in which small amounts of painkiller are released into the bloodstream gradually, usually over 12 hours. But when used illegally, the pill is often crushed and snorted, or mixed with water and injected, or chewed. This delivers the entire drug at once, producing an intense high that also can kill.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: The Media Awareness Project. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1006/a06.html

Abuse

Police Fret Over Surge in 'Hillbilly Heroin' Use
By Tad Vezner
OxyContin is a problem that is widespread in this country. This article explains how Toledo, Ohio is facing the surge in this illegal use of the drug. While Ohio is in the top ten states of OxyContin abuse, Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman Dave Jacobson said "the Toledo area is at one of those critical junctures in drug trends — it's at a crossroads. Use is increasing, and it's in danger of taking off. But it could also fade to the side."
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050102/NEWS08/50102012&
SearchID=73195153996287

OxyContin Diversion and Abuse by the Drug Enforcement Administration
This bulletin addresses the diversion and abuse of the prescription pain reliever OxyContin and the impact of abuse, particularly in the eastern United States. OxyContin and heroin have similar effects. The abuse of oxycodone products in general has increased in recent years. Reliable strength, potential prescription cost coverage, and significant profit potential make OxyContin attractive to both illicit distributors and abusers. Authorities have recognized the increasing problems associated with diversion of the drug. Law enforcement officials, physicians, pharmacists, and representatives of Purdue Pharma L.P. are working together to find methods to limit diversion and abuse. Legislative initiatives are also being drafted to make OxyContin distribution less appealing by creating more stringent penalties.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: U.S. Department of Justice: Information Bulletin.
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs/651/

Delaney on OxyContin Problems
A blessing to sufferers of chronic pain, the prescription drug OxyContin can also lead to dependency if it's abused. For some, it's become a way to merely get high. Users often obtain the drug illegally with false prescriptions or steal it from a pharmacy. They then grind up the drug and inject it or inhale it. This article answers what makes it so appealing and what is being done to prevent the abuse of the drug.
http://asia.cnn.com/2001/US/07/19/Delaney.debrief.otsc/

Deaths Linked To Painkiller Raise Fear By Elisa Ung
More and more bodies tested in morgues around the Philadelphia region show traces of the chemical found in OxyContin, chilling coroners with the realization that the powerful painkiller, when abused, has become a major people killer as well. Compared to 20 Vicodan pills, just the one OxyContin pill will cause death.
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/07/15/front_page/OXY15.htm

Healing A Painkiller's Hurt
OxyContin, a heavily prescribed painkiller, is being abused and blamed for an increase in crime in rural Virginia. Robberies are up 90 percent; five deaths in this sparsely populated county have been linked to the drug; and despite reports of an overdose every other day, nothing is slowing the abuse of the synthetic morphine. The drug maker says it is a breakthrough medication and spent $26 million last year educating doctors on the wonders of Oxycontin.
http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,285948-412,00.shtml

Teenagers in Rehab Tell About Experiences with OxyContin by Leslie Koren
The number of young people who have used OxyContin surprised Joseph H. Hennen, the executive director of Daytop, which is the only co-ed residential drug treatment center for adolescents in New Jersey. From making one relaxed to not caring about anything, teenagers cite the allure of this drug.
http://www.bergen.com/news/oxykids200107073.htm

Scheduling

FDA Strengthens Warnings For Oxycontin
FDA has strengthened the warnings and precautions sections in the labeling of OxyContin (oxycodone HCl controlled-release) tablets, a narcotic drug approved for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, because of continuing reports of abuse and diversion. OxyContin is a controlled substance in Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which is administered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Schedule II provides the maximum amount of control possible under the CSA for approved drug products.
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2001/ANS01091.html

A Pain Killer That Can Kill by Nicole Weisensee
Egan Eddie Bisch an 18-year-old man died in his sleep from an accidental overdose of OxyContin. His death is one of at least 20 in Philadelphia since last November in which the drug was one of the contributing factors.
The following document is in pdf format. Source: Philadelphia Daily News.
www.Philly.com