Oxycontin Facts

• OxyContin, approved by the FDA in 1995, is a time-released form of oxycodone, an opium derivative, which is the same active ingredient in Percodan and Percocet.
• The powerful prescription pain reliever has become a hot new street drug that has resulted in more than 120 deaths nationwide.
• 5mg of OXY has as much active ingredient (oxycodone) as One percocet.
• OxyContin has been referred to as "hillbilly heroin" or "the poor man's heroin."
• OxyContin, marketed by Purdue Pharma L.P., has been linked to addiction, suffering and death of patients using this prescription painkiller.
• Addiction and abuse of the drug, crime and fatal overdoses have all been reported as a result of OxyContin use.
• OxyContin is intended for use by terminal cancer patients and chronic pain sufferers.
• It has been reported that OxyContin's sales exceeded $1 billion in the United States in the year 2000.
• Purdue Pharma temporarily suspended shipment of OxyContin in 160 mg dosages to help curb abuse.
• Doctors, pharmacists and law-enforcement officials say that the manufacturer of OxyContin has overpromoted the benefits and utility of the drug without providing enough warning about the potential for abuse.
• OxyContin abusers either crush the tablet and ingest or snort it or dilute it in water and inject it.
• Individuals addicted to OxyContin will crush or dilute the tablet to override the time-release action of the medication which causes a quick, powerful high.
• Great profits are being made in the illegal sale of OxyContin. A 40-milligram pill costs approximately $4 by prescription, but it may sell for $20 to $40 on the street, depending on the area of the country in which the drug is sold.
• Opioids like OxyContin and heroin block pain messengers to the brain and central nervous system.
• Oxycontin increases the amount of dopamine in the brain which causes increased feelings of pleasure and euphoria.
• OxyContin addiction creeps up on the individual until acquiring the drug becomes a full time obsession affecting friends, family, career, kids, finances and possibly involving the police.