The Connection between Prescribed Opioids and Increased Heroin Use
OxyContin and similar opioid prescriptions often serve as gateway drugs to heroin. When patients can no longer crush, snort, or access the pills they desire, they look elsewhere to achieve a high. Users take their money into the black market, purchase relatively inexpensive and plentiful heroin, and accept a greater degree of risk in doing so. After developing an addiction, the transition from pharmaceutical grade opioids to heroin isn’t too big a leap for many who crave the mind-numbing and euphoric sensation of using.
Discover the Truth about the Opioid/Heroin Crisis
The country is in the midst of an opioid epidemic. That sentence bears repeating – for non-medical users and all prescription drug users who follow their doctor’s recommendations. People developing opioid addictions today live in every state in the nation, come from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, and come from all different age groups. They begin using opioids for pain management or fun. Children steal prescriptions from a parent’s cabinet to sell at school. Adults see different doctors with the same ailment to obtain multiple prescriptions for the same opioid drug.
According to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths associated with opioid use quadrupled from 2000-2015. During that period, over 500,000 people died after experiencing an opioid overdose (including heroin and prescription opioids). In 2015, over 15,000 people were killed from prescription opioids. Over 1,000 people receive treatment in emergency rooms every day because they fail to use opioid prescriptions as directed. The most common culprits in overdose deaths involving opioids include methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), and oxycodone (OxyContin).
How OxyContin and Similar Drugs Contribute To the Epidemic
According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2015 and 2016, the connection between prescription opioids and heroin is clear. From surveys conducted from 2008-2014 from opioid-dependent patients, researchers discovered that as prescription opioid use wanes in different regions of the country, heroin abuse tends to rise (with certain regional differences). Availability of the drug and the cost of prescriptions vs. heroin often factor into a patient’s transition from one to the other.
The research published in 2016 highlights the different motivations in a patient’s prescription drug abuse. For some, increased abuse is recreation. For others, it arises from an increasing and perceived need to manage pain levels. Prescribing physicians often facilitate initial abuse. For years, they prescribed opioid medications including OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Demerol, and others without reservation, a short-term tapering off plan, or an explanation of the drugs’ addictive nature. The study also confirmed a correlation between heroin and opioid prescriptions. Findings also suggest the transition from prescription to illegal opioid use leads to a higher rate of heroin overdose deaths.
A prescription opioid is a pharmaceutical-grade heroin. The drug triggers the same pain-blocking, dopamine-producing experience as a prescription. While the drugs behave the same, heroin comes at a higher risk. Dosage miscalculations, formulation mistakes, impurities, and other factors make heroin a much more dangerous opioid than prescription opioids in many ways. The data suggest the nonmedical use of prescription opioids represents a significant risk factor contributing to heroin popularity and abuse.
One Mayor May Sue OxyContin Manufacturer
In Snohomish, Washington, the government has officially declared opioid and heroin abuse as a local epidemic. The mayor there plans to ask for the support of other government officials in filing a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma – the maker of brand name oxycodone drug, OxyContin. If filed, the lawsuit may seek to prove negligent marketing of the drug. The manufacturer advertised the new version of the drug as a less-addictive alternative to other opioids and actively ignored distribution channels into “pill mills,” that then become part of drug-trafficking rings.
While OxyContin did reformulate the drug, so it was harder to abuse (i.e., crush and dissolve) in 2010, the change may only have deterred a limited number of users. Others simply switched to heroin or other opioids. In Snohomish, the government officials associate the addictive prescription with rising crime, homelessness, and an increased number of overdoses. Regardless of the outcome of a potential legal case, the fact that people can easily associate these prescriptions with increased opioid addiction, heroin use, and death raises a red flag we cannot ignore.
Addressing the Connection between Prescription Opioids and Heroin
Few people question the reality of the epidemic today. Understanding how to curb opioid addiction and overdose death remains a clear challenge. To stem the tide of addiction and death permanently, the country must address the lack of prescription oversight, illegal drug trafficking, and the need for specialized recovery treatment. Those already addicted to opioids need access to medical detox facilities and recovery programs that understand the physical and psychological nature of opioid addictions.
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