By: Lakeview Health
OxyContin and oxycodone are now the most abused drugs on the streets and in the homes. Many of those suffering from the abuse of these opiates innocently began their addiction with a prescription for the drug. However, these patients soon began to seek the drug not for pain, but to feed their addiction. OxyContin has been used as a first line of defense for pain treatment rather than a last attempt. Furthermore, prescribing physicians have not been doing the comprehensive evaluation both before and during the treatment to determine if the patient is a good fit in using this medication. As if all of this were not enough to manage, drug companies are in competition to create an even more powerful opiate. Hydrocodone has been on the market for some time. This new hydrocodone pill is considered to be 10 times more powerful than Vicodin. The drug will be pure hydrocodone. At present time, hydrocodone is combined with acetaminophen, and like its counterpart OxyContin, the new hydrocodone pill is designed to be time released. However, like OxyContin, once the pill is crushed, the time release is destroyed and an intense high is immediately gotten. Opiate narcotics are now a multi-billion dollar business for pharmaceutical companies, ongoing users due to addiction, and are guaranteed returned clientele. There are not many controls on the use of opiates now as the problems related to prescription drug addiction continue to mount: emergency room visits, death from overdose, domestic abuse, murder, lost productivity and more. Is a new powerful opiate needed?
