Purdue Pharma, makers of the now infamous OxyContin, told the public in 2001 and for any subsequent years, that OxyContin had a lower risk of abuse and addiction than other designate painkillers. The drug took the country by storm and, unfortunately, the users of the drug did the same with hospital Ers, drug detox and rehab centers, and morgues. Purdue lied, some citizen died, and many had their lives ruined. OxyContin addiction and abuse became practically epidemic and Purdue was fined 4.5 million earlier this year for their misdeeds. Now Alpharma is developing a synthetic morphine capsule they hope will fulfill the OxyContin promise. But how much of the abuse and addiction qoute will it admittedly resolve?
The story behind Purdue's claim that OxyContin addiction and abuse was less likely than with other opiate painkillers was based on the drug's time-release formulation. In fact, the Fda did allow Purdue Pharma to state that the time release of a narcotic like OxyContin "is believed to reduce" its inherent to be abused. But Purdue sales reps, with the permission of Purdue, took it any steps further - they told doctors that "believed to reduce" is more than just system and, agreeing to federal officials, even drew their own fake scientific charts and distributed them to doctors to reserve the claim.
Addiction In Drugs
There were two basic problems with their claim: first, OxyContin addiction or, at the very least, dependency, is going to occur if you take it for even a relatively short duration of time and even when taken as directed. The time release functionality has admittedly nothing to do with it.
Second, if you crush, dissolve or chew the pill, the time release functionality goes out the window and you get the full 12 hour dose in one hit. This point was determined to be the major departure from the truth in the Purdue hearings, and is the qoute Alpharma is hoping to rule with their new morphine pill. Here's how it works - theoretically.
The new morphine pill is a capsule containing 100 to 200 tiny pellets. Each pellet contains a core of naltrexone - a drug that inhibits morphine-induced euphoria. If the capsule is taken intact, the naltrexone core remains inactive, but when crushed, chewed or dissolved the naltrexone integrates with the morphine.
The rationale behind this is that someone who is 'using' the drug as directed would take the capsule intact and get the pain relief they're seeing for, and someone wishing to 'abuse' the drug would crush, chew or dissolve it to get the morphine euphoria. However, if the naltrexone nullifies the euphoria, 'abusers' will not be interested in the drug.
And this, apparently, will sell out abuse and addiction.
How solid is this argument? Let me count the holes.
First, each private metabolizes morphine and naltrexone differently, as directed by their Dna and a estimate of other involved factors. The estimate of naltrexone in each pill may prove to be too little, or too much. Too small wouldn't nullify the morphine euphoria, and too much could induce withdrawal. And you never admittedly know how each someone will respond.
Second, I can pretty much guarantee that anything who's at the point of chewing, crushing and dissolving any pill is already an addict. So, even though the someone may be discouraged from using this single morphine formulation, it's not going to stop or preclude addiction or abuse.
Third, you don't need to chew, crush or dissolve opiate painkillers to get addicted to them. And you don't need to chew, crush or dissolve them to abuse them.
I don't know how many of the 30,000 citizen who went to Ers, drug detox and rehab centers and morgues over the first few years after OxyContin's release had chewed, crushed or dissolved the pills before taking them, but I do know there are plenty of citizen out there who wouldn't even think of doing that who still industrialized an OxyContin addiction or dependency. I also know that taken as directed or not, time release or not, naltrexone core or not, citizen are going to get addicted to and dependent on this new drug.
Really, changing the way a pill is made will not change morphine addiction, Percocet addiction, OxyContin addiction or addiction to any other heavy opiate painkiller. They are extremely addictive and they create corporal dependency. Period.
What you can do is use these drugs only when admittedly necessary, take them only as directed, keep them out of everybody else's reach even if you have to keep the bottle on your someone at all times, and get off them as soon as possible. If you have issue getting off them, find a good medical drug detox agenda that can help make it safe and as comfortable as possible. anything you do, don't buy the hype.
designate Drug Addiction Caught Us By Surprise - Don't Let The Same Thing Happen With Morphine