Fact
What is Oxycontin?
OxyContin is a semisynthetic opioid analgesic prescribed for chronic or long-lasting pain. The medication’s active ingredient is oxycodone, which is also found in drugs like Percodan and Tylox.
However, OxyContin contains between 10 and 160 milligrams of oxycodone in a timed-release tablet. Painkillers such as Tylox contain 5 milligrams of oxycodone and often require repeated doses to bring about pain relief because they lack the timed-release formulation.
Fact
Why is Oxycontin abuse different?
Abuse of prescription pain medications is not new. Two primary factors, however, set OxyContin abuse apart from other prescription drug abuse. First, OxyContin is a powerful drug that contains a much larger amount of the active ingredient, oxycodone, than other prescription pain relievers. By crushing the tablet and either ingesting or snorting it, or by injecting diluted OxyContin, abusers feel the powerful effects of the opioid in a short time, rather than over a 12-hour span. Second, great profits are to be made in the illegal sale of OxyContin. A 40-milligram pill costs approximately $4 by prescription, yet it may sell for $20 to $40 on the street, depending on the area of the country in which the drug is sold.
- Oxycodone-containing products are in tablet, capsule, and liquid forms.
- A variety of colors, markings, and packaging are available.
- Acute overdose of oxycodone can produce severe respiratory depression, skeletal muscle flaccidity, cold and clammy skin, reduction in blood pressure and heart rate, coma, respiratory arrest, and death.
Fact
Origins.
Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin, an opiate agonist, in 1995. Pharmaceuticals such as OxyContin can be diverted in many ways. The most popular form is known as "doctor shopping," where individuals, who may or may not have legitimate illnesses requiring a doctor's prescription for controlled substances, visit many doctors to acquire large amounts of controlled substances. Other diversion methods include pharmacy diversion and improper prescribing practices by physicians.
Fact
Oxycontin's Dangers.
The FDA issued three warning letters to Purdue Pharma about its unlawful marketing representations in May 2000, August 2001 and January 2003. In the last letter, Thomas Abrams, director of the FDA Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications, stated: ``Your journal advertisements are misleading because they make prominent claims of effectiveness for pain relief, but omit from the body of advertisements crucial facts related to the serious, potentially fatal safety risks associated with the risks of OxyContin to be abused, and the limitations on its appropriate indicated use."