Opana: The New Painkiller of Choice to Abuse

Oxymorphone, known most commonly as Opana, is a powerful painkiller of the opioid variety that is available in extended-release and instant-release form. Opana is a Schedule II drug in the United States, meaning it has approved medicinal qualities but also has a high potential for abuse. Opana is a very long lasting drug, which is another reason why people are choosing to abuse it instead of other prescription painkillers. Opana, when injected by its abusers, can be responsible for causing a fatal blood disorder called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. This disorder, which may result in kidney failure and death, imposes a limit on blood flow to organs by forming clots that form in small blood vessels. However, kidney failure is not the only risk that is carried with this disorder. The disorder also causes a person to be at a higher risk for getting a stroke or brain damage. As the popularity of prescription painkiller abuse has risen, more people now die from prescription drug abuse than from heroin and…

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OxyContin: The Crouching Tiger

The abuse of prescription drugs like OxyContin by the younger generation is a growing concern for society. The drug gives the user a sense of euphoria, replacing anxiety with sleepy relaxation -- a relaxed high if you will. One out of ten seniors in high school seniors have admitted to using narcotic painkillers to get high, and when it comes to OxyContin, the number seems to be increasing among the youth. The drug provides an experience that is attracting an increasing amount of users. It is looked at as a "party" drug instead of an extremely addictive substance. The public’s flawed belief in what an addict looks and acts like is thought to be a factor in the growing number OxyContin users and its acceptance among the younger population. One of the especially troubling things about this addiction is the ease of use for the addicts; the fact that the effects are not immediately noticeable. As a result, the young people who are using it don’t see the harmful…

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Newborn Opiate Addiction and Withdrawal

One of the saddest facts about prescription drug abuse is that a pregnant mother who abuses medicine will pass the effects to her unborn child. Unfortunately, it has become more and more common for newborn babies to be born addicted to prescription medications like OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin. The Los Angeles Times reports that in 2009, more than 13,500 infants were born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS); this translates to approximately one such birth every hour. A recent New York Times article tells the story of one child that was only a few days old and had to be placed on methadone because his withdrawal symptoms were so severe. His mother abused OxyContin in the early stages of her pregnancy without her doctor's knowledge. She tried to quit while pregnant but became so ill that the survival of her unborn child was in doubt. Her doctor prescribed methadone for the duration of her pregnancy. After his birth, her son was placed on the same drug. Babies that are born…

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