Read more about the article Making Oxycontin Harder to Abuse Led to Heroin OD’s

Making Oxycontin Harder to Abuse Led to Heroin OD’s

Have you ever wondered how heroin became such a prominent drug in the past few years? In 2010, Purdue Pharma, the makers of Oxycontin, were under a lot of pressure from various stakeholders. The popular drug, used for anything from pain for an acute injury to long-term chronic pain like cancer, had proven more addictive than they anticipated. By the 2000’s, it was clear that something had gone awry. People were crushing pills and snorting or shooting them up. So they decided to make Oxycontin more difficult to abuse by reformulating the medicine. By making the pills difficult to crush and more extended-release, people wouldn’t be able to abuse them.

While this was a logical step to take, especially from the drug manufacturer’s perspective, the damage had already been done for many people. Thousands were already misusing the pill, and …

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Read more about the article Is Kratom an Opioid? The FDA Says Yes

Is Kratom an Opioid? The FDA Says Yes

The Food and Drug Administration put out new warnings about kratom, saying that the drug is best classified as a substance with “opioid properties” and linking it to 44 deaths. Previously, the DEA took steps to outlaw the drug altogether but halted their actions as Kratom advocates led campaigns against the agency involving petitions and phone calls.

Kratom has become popular among people with opioid use disorder trying to get clean from heroin and other potent, addictive drugs. People with chronic pain, depression, and a myriad of other diseases. Often, sellers of Kratom market the drug in capsule, powder, and tea form. People claim it helps ease the symptoms of a wealth of diseases.

While these benefits sound great, there are many people in the addiction community that believe that replacing opioids with Kratom is a dangerous and unsustainable practice. …

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Massachusetts Bill Takes Aim At Opiate Abuse Prevention In Teens

The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill last week aimed at combating opiate-related substance abuse problems before they even begin, especially for at-risk teens.

“The Senate unanimously passed the second bill to address the opioid epidemic,” state Sen. Kathleen O’Connor Ives, D-Newburyport, told The Daily News of Newburyport. “The prior bill focused on expanding treatment options and went into effect this week. This bill is focused on prevention and intervention in an effort to curb the serious health crisis.” According to recent statistics from the state, unintentional deaths from opiate overdoses have increased 90% in the state of Massachusetts within the past 12 years.

In Massachusetts, like many states in the US, a growing heroin overdoes have been claiming lives in epidemic proportions. The bill takes aim at the origins of opiate addiction, which is increasingly a result of addiction …

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Is OxyContin Still King?

There are growing signs around the country that the abuse of OxyContin is diminishing. The drug is being bypassed during pharmacy robberies in favor of Opana, methadone and other narcotic drugs, and some hospital emergency rooms are reporting a decrease in OxyContin overdoses.

According to Forbes, the Journal of Pain and other publications, the introduction of a new tamper-resistant form of OxyContin in 2010 seems to be responsible for a decrease in abuse of the drug. Drug addicts previously crushed OxyContin pills to circumvent the drugs time-release mechanism and experience the full impact of the drug in one rush. Instead of allowing drug abusers to crush the pill for snorting or injection, the new OxyContin turns into a gummy mush when tampered with.

Unfortunately, the reformulation of OxyContin does not appear to be leading to an overall drop in drug …

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The Seth Foundation – Teenage Heroin Advocacy

We haven’t given proper coverage to the powerful website/advocacy group that was started by the bereaved family of Seth Norcutt.

Website: http://www.thesethfoundation.org

Seth’s story is a ‘must read’  because it is written in a very compelling and moving manner – go straight to that page here.  Seth was like many of those that contact us, he struggled with addiction after experimenting recreationally and getting hooked.  Seth was from the San Diego, California area.

Seth ended up dying of a heroin overdose, but as it says in the story:

Seth first started with simple over-the-counter medications like soma and vicodin and progressed to oxycontin. Why not, at $5 a pill, and readily available at school and from his friends, they were easy. No mess, nothing to hide, and the “Narc’s” at school would never know. That was less than two

…
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Southern California OxyContin Abusers Switching to Heroin

Drug treatment officials in San Diego County recently reported that the use of heroin by young adults has more than tripled since 2006.  According to Susan Bower, director of San Diego County Alcohol and Drug Services, the increase in heroin use is “scary.”  Admissions for heroin addiction now account for nearly one in five of all treatment admissions at facilities operated by the county.

Many of the addicts seeking treatment have been identified as young men who are switching to heroin as a cheaper alternative to OxyContin.  The black market demand for OxyContin has caused the price to rise to as much as $80 for an 80mg tablet, making heroin an cheaper alternative for addicts despite its deadly reputation. This is the first time in several decades that heroin abuse and addiction has become an issue in San Diego…
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Glen Alexander – A Life Ended Too Soon Part III

Read Part I of Glen Alexander’s Story

Read Part II of Glen Alexander’s Story

“When I Found Him”

It was about 6:30 AM.  I was so glad Glen had stopped moaning and hoped he was feeling better.  I picked up his glass and mug that he had kicked over and brought them to the kitchen.  I went back in his room to check on him.  I noticed he had removed all his clothing and was now laying sideways, on his stomach, across his bed.  When I came in this time, I looked at his back and realized he was not breathing.  I stood there paralyzed thinking, Oh God please no, please no!  Please say it isn’t true.  I finally reached out and touch him and he was already cold and hard to the touch.  I flipped out and ran to …

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Glen Alexander – A Life Ended Too Soon Part II

Read Part I of the story here.

On October 25, 2008 Glen received a settlement from the insurance company.  He put $50,000 in the bank to use for a down payment on a house.  He could not buy a house until his Social Security Disability was approved.  He had to show some kind of income and was unable to work.

On August 3, 2009: Glen filled out a “Pain Questionnaire” for Social Security.  He states:  His pain is located in his right leg, ankle, and foot.  It feels like it is broken.  His leg hurts and makes him suddenly depressed.   It hurts 24/7.  The pain never goes away.  It last forever.  Rest relieves his pain overnight.  He smokes medical marijuana daily to help mostly with the anxiety.  He stops activities all the time because of pain.  He can no longer …

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Glen Alexander – A Life Ended Too Soon Part I

Glen Tyson Alexander

February 17, 1987 ~ July 2, 2010

Glen always said, He didn’t have a purpose in life.  He did.  He does.

Glen was born in Whittier, CA on February 17, 1987.  He was the youngest of six children (2 brothers and 3 sisters).   He wanted to be born feet first, but instead they did an emergency c-section.  He was the third one of my children to be diagnosed as extremely ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and was started on medication in second grade.  By eighth grade he didn’t want to take meds anymore.  He told me, “I know they make me behave better, but I don’t like the way they make me feel”.  He always dealt with anxiety and depression and was diagnosed bipolar as a young adult.

Whatever his problems were, they didn’t keep his family …

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Heroin Use is Rising and Fueled by OxyContin

Heroin Use on the Rise

Like clothing styles, the popularity of some illegal drugs goes in and out of fashion.  Heroin, which saw a surge of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, was eclipsed by Ecstasy and cocaine in the decades that followed.  Now heroin use is once again on the rise. A recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times reported that heroin use in the suburbs of Chicago increased by 46 percent between 2008 and 2009.  Further evidence was reported in an Associate Press survey of 36 states which found that heroin deaths rose 20 percent from 2006 to 2008.

Increased Availability of Heroin

The U.S. Department of Justice attributes the rise in heroin abuse  in part to the increased availability of the drug.  Its National Drug Threat Assessment for 2010 reports that heroin is widely available in parts America …

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