the truth about painkillers

8/9/2019 The Truth About Painkillers

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drugfreeworld.org

The TruTh abouT

painkillers


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WHY THIS BOOKLETWAS PRODUCED

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PrescriptionpainkillerAbuse

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While the use of many street drugs ison a slight decline in the US, abuse ofprescription drugs is growing. In 2007,2.5 million Americans abused prescription drugsfor the first time, compared to 2.1 million who usedmarijuana for the first time.

Among teens, prescription drugs are the mostcommonly used drugs next to marijuana, andalmost half of the teens abusing prescription drugsare taking painkillers.

Why are so many young people turning toprescription drugs to get high?

By survey, almost 50% of teens believe that takingprescription drugs is much safer than using illegalstreet drugs.

What is not known bymost of these youngpeople is the risk theyare taking by consumingthese highly potentand mindalteringdrugs. Longterm useof painkillers can leadto dependence, evenfor people who are prescribed them to relieve amedical condition but eventually fall into the trapof abuse and addiction.

In some cases, the dangers of painkillers dont

surface until it is too late. In 2007, for example,abuse of the painkiller Fentanyl killed more than1,000 people. The drug was found to be 30 to 50times more powerful than heroin.


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What are painkillers?

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7

Oxycodone

Hydrocodone

Propoxyphene

Hydromorphone

Meperidine

OxyContin, Percodan,Percocet, Roxiprin,Roxicet, Endodan,Endocet

Anexsia, Dicodid,Hycodan, Hycomine,Lorcet, Lortab, Norco,Tussionex, Vicodin

Darvon

Dilaudid

Demerol

Oxy 80s, oxycotton,oxycet, hillbilly heroin,percs, perks

pain killer, vikes,hydros

pinks, footballs, pinkfootballs, yellowfootballs, 65s, Ns

juice, dillies, drug streetheroin

demmies, pain killer


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Understanding Why PainkillersBecome So

addictiveOpioid painkillers produce a shortlivedeuphoria, but they are also addictive.Longterm use of painkillers can lead

to physical dependence. The body adaptsto the presence of the substance and if onestops taking the drug abruptly, withdrawalsymptoms occur. Or the body could build up

a tolerance to the drug, meaning that higherdoses have to be taken to achieve the sameeffects.

Like all drugs, painkillers simply mask the painfor which they are taken. They dont cureanything. Someone continuously trying to dullthe pain may find himself taking higher and


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Family members protest deadlypainkillers. Rehab experts say addictionto powerful painkillers such as OxyContinis among the hardest of all to kick.

higher dosesonly to discover that he cannotmake it through the day without the drug.

Symptoms of withdrawal can includerestlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia,diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goosebumps (known as cold turkey), andinvoluntary leg movements.

One of the serious risks of opioids isrespiratory depressionhigh doses can causebreathing to slow down to the point it stopsand the user dies.


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OxcoThe Hillbilly Heroin

Because it reacts on the nervoussystem like heroin or opium, someabusers are using one brand ofoxycodone painkiller, OxyContin, as asubstitute for, or supplement to, streetopiates like heroin.

Armed robberies of pharmacies haveoccurred where the robber demandedonly OxyContin, not cash. In some areas,particularly the Eastern United States,OxyContin has been the drug of greatestconcern to law enforcement authorities.

OxyContin, widely known as hillbilly

heroin because of its abuse in Appalachian

communities, has emerged as a major crimeproblem in the US. In one county, it wasestimated that addiction to this drug wasbehind 80% of the crime.


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Tms


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Mental & Physiologicaleff of p constipation

nausea

vomiting

dizziness

confusion

addiction unconsciousness

respiratory depression

increased risk of heart attack

coma

death


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Highly addictive

opiates, derived

from the opium

poppy, have

been used for

thousands of

years for both

recreationaland medicinal

purposes.

p:

a shOrt histOryOpiates, originally derived fromthe opium poppy, have been usedfor thousands of years for bothrecreational and medicinal purposes. The mostactive substance in opium is morphinenamedafter Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams.Morphine is a very powerful painkiller, but it is

also very addictive.In the 16th century, laudanum, opium preparedin an alcoholic solution, was used as apainkiller.

Morphine was first extracted from opium in apure form in the early 19th century. It was usedwidely as a painkiller during the American Civil

War, and many soldiers became addicted.


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Morphine, the mosactive substanc

in opium, is a verpowerful painkillethat hooked man

US Civil War soldier


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A bottle

of codeine

tabletsall

opiates

temporarily

relieve pain

but are highlyaddictive.

Codeine, a less powerful drug that is found inopium but can be synthesized (manmade), wasfirst isolated in 1830 in France by JeanPierreRobiquet, to replace raw opium for medicalpurposes. It is used mainly as a cough remedy.

Throughout the early 19th century, therecreational use of opium grew and by 1830,the British dependence on the drug reachedan alltime high. The British sent warshipsto the coast of China in 1839 in response toChinas attempt to suppress the opium traffic,beginning the First Opium War.

In 1874, chemists trying to find a less addictiveform of morphine made heroin. But heroin hadtwice the potency of morphine, and heroinaddiction soon became a serious problem.

The US Congress banned opium in 1905 and thenext year passed the Pure Food and Drug Actrequiring contents labeling on all medicines.

Methadone was first synthesized in 1937by German scientists Max Bockmhl and


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The stamp of IG Farben, the

German company whose

chemists Bockmhl and Ehrhartdeveloped the formula for

methadone (right)a synthetic

form of heroin.

Gustav Ehrhart at the IG Farben company.They were searching for a painkiller thatwould be easier to use during surgery, with lessaddiction potential than morphine or heroin.

Yet methadone is believed by many to be evenmore addictive than heroin.

Meanwhile, the illegal opium trade boomed.By 1995, Southeast Asia was producing2,500 tons annually.

New painkillers came on the marketwith approval from the Food and Drug

Administration: Vicodin in 1984, OxyContinin 1995 and Percocet in 1999. Theseare all synthetic (manmade) opiateswhich mimic (imitate) the bodys ownpainkillers.


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io

samong those using illicit drugs for thefirst time in 2007, the most popularsubstances were marijuana andprescription painkillerseach used by roughlythe same number of Americans aged 12 andolder. Nonmedical use of painkillers rose 12%.

One in 10 high school seniors in the US admitsto abusing prescription painkillers.

Misuse of painkillers represents threefourthsof the overall problem of prescription drugabuse. The painkiller hydrocodone is the mostcommonly diverted and abused controlledpharmaceutical in the US.

Methadone, once used in addiction treatmentcenters and now used by doctors as a painkiller,

was found as the cause of 785 deaths inone state alone, Florida, in 2007.

Prescription drug abuse is also climbingin older Americans, particularlyinvolving antianxiety drugs suchas Xanax and painkillers such as

OxyContin.

In the UK, tens of thousands of peopleare said to be dependent on painkillerssuch as Solpadeine and Neurofen Plus.

Doctors and rehabilitation therapistsreport that prescription painkiller abuseis one of the most difficult addictionsto treat.


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The Truth

About DrugsDrugs are essentially poisons. The amounttaken determines the effect.A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds youup). A greater amount acts as a sedative (slows

you down). An even larger amount poisons andcan kill.

This is true of any drug. Only the amount neededto achieve the effect differs.

But many drugs have another liability: theydirectly affect the mind. They can distort the users

perception of what is happening around him orher. As a result, the persons actions may be odd,irrational, inappropriate and even destructive.

Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable oneswith the unwanted. So, while providing shorttermhelp in the relief of pain, they also wipe out abilityand alertness and muddy ones thinking.

Medicines are drugs that are intended to speed upor slow down or change something about the wayyour body is working, to try to make it work better.Sometimes they are necessary. But they are stilldrugs: they act as stimulants or sedatives, and toomuch can kill you. So if you do not use medicinesas they are supposed to be used, they can be asdangerous as illegal drugs.


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The real answer is to getthe facts and not to take

drugs in the first place.


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People take drugs because they want tochange something in their lives.

Here are some of the reasons youngpeople have given for taking drugs:

To fit in

To escape or relax

To relieve boredom

To seem grown up

To rebel

To experiment

They think drugs are a solution. Buteventually, the drugs become the

problem.

Difficult as it may be to face onesproblems, the consequences of drug useare always worse than the problem oneis trying to solve with them. The realanswer is to get the facts and not to take

drugs in the first place.

WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS?


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REFERENCES:

Drug Enforcement AdministrationFact Sheet on Prescription DrugAbuse

Older Americans fight drug abuse,

3 Jul 2008, International HeraldTribune

Methadone rises as a painkillerwith big risks, 17 Aug 2008,International Herald Tribune

Nurofen Plus to remain on sale,6 Aug 2008

Warning on painkillers, 5 April2007, Financial Times

2007 National Survey on DrugUse and Health, U.S. SubstanceAbuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration

Depressants, U.S. Departmentof Health & Human Services andSAMHSAs National Clearinghousefor Alcohol & Drug Information

ABC of drugs, channel4.com

A Brief History of Opium,opioids.com

OxyContin Information, NationalClearinghouse on Alcohol and DrugInformation

OxyContin: Prescription Drug AbuseAdvisory, Center for SubstanceAbuse Treatment (CSAT)

National Institute on Drug Abuse(NIDA), Info Facts: Prescription Pain

and Other MedicationsNational Institute on Drug AbuseResearch Report, PrescriptionDrugs, Abuse and Addiction 2001

Some Commonly PrescribedMedications: Use andConsequences, National Instituteon Drug Abuse

National Institute of Justice, Drugand Alcohol Use and Related

Matters Among Arrestees, 2003

U.S. Office of National Drug ControlPolicy, Drug Facts: OxyContin, andPrescription Drug Facts & Figures

New Report Reveals More Than1000 People Died in Illegal FentanylEpidemic of 20052007, SubstanceAbuse and Mental Health ServicesAdministration

Teen OTC & PrescriptionDrug Abuse,teenoverthecounterdrugabuse.com

PHOTO CREDITS: Page 9:OxyABUSEkills.com/protest; Page14 & 15: AP Wideworld.

Millions of copies of booklets such asthis have been distributed to peoplearound the world in 22 languages. Asnew drugs appear on the streets and mor

information about their effects becomesknown, existing booklets are updated annew ones created.

The booklets are published by theFoundation for a DrugFree World, anonprofit public benefit organizationheadquartered in Los Angeles, California

The Foundation provides educationalmaterials, advice and coordination for itsinternational drug prevention network.It works with youth, parents, educators,volunteer organizations and governmenagenciesanyone with an interest in

helping people lead lives free from drugabuse.


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For more information or to obtain more copiesof this or other booklets in this series, contact:

Foundation for a DrugFree World

1626 N. Wilcox Avenue, #1297

Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA

drugfreeworld.org email: [email protected]

Pn: 1888 No To DruGS (1888 6686378)

FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW

This booklet is one in a series of publications that cover the facts about marijuana, alcohol,

Ecstasy, cocaine, crack cocaine, crystal meth and methamphetamine, inhalants, heroin,

LSD and prescription drug abuse. Armed with this information, the reader can make thedecision to live a drugfree life.

2008 Foundation for a DrugFree World. All Rights Reserved. The Foundation logo is a trademark owned by theFoundation for a DrugFree World. Item #C6231 USENG

TM

the truth about painkillers

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