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Posted by : Mercury
on Friday, June 01, 2007 - 10:47 AM EST |
 by Lindsey Cole, Canada.
The walls are caving in. No matter how many blankets he has, the cold sweats overwhelm him. Vomiting and diarrhea are just the beginning of his comedown.
The hallucinations kick-in. Visions of his friends in jail and dying encapsulate his entire being.
Such is one of the most riveting scenes in the 1997 movie Trainspotting.
The protagonist, Renton, is coming down from one of the worst addictions a person can face, heroin.
While the movie may seem like an exaggerated and blown out of proportion portrayal of withdrawal, Dr. Alan Konyer of the Ontario Addiction Treatment Centre in Peterborough assures this is a truthful depiction of someone coming off a heroin-based drug.
Although Renton shot heroin up his arm, there is a more readily accessible pill that can create a similar high with less fuss.
The drug is OxyContin, a prescription heroin-based narcotic used to alleviate pain. People easily become addicted to the medicine once they use it for awhile, Dr. Konyer explains.
“I think because they’re more accessible, people don’t have to inject them, but they are every bit as addictive.
| "It’s just another form, another way for people to abuse drugs. People turn to other things and it’s very available on the street. I think it’s easier for people to get at because almost everybody knows somebody who’s on a prescription for oxys."
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People become physically dependent on OxyContin.”
The problem with OxyContin use is that it is hard to detect as regular users can fall under the radar.
“If someone is using a steady amount regularly you won’t necessarily notice anything. One of the big problems is that they can live with their addiction. They’re no longer getting high from it but they need it. It’s a terrible existence.”
These pills have wreaked havoc on the Peterborough community for the past four or five years, says Detective Constable Deb Gillis.
“It’s just another form, another way for people to abuse drugs. People turn to other things and it’s very available on the street. I think it’s easier for people to get at because almost everybody knows somebody who’s on a prescription for oxys,” she states.
“There are some people that I know have a legitimate OxyContin prescription but now they sell it. I’ve found in the last four or five years since crack cocaine has come to town that the seizures of OxyContin have increased.”
Ten to 20 per cent of OxyContin consumption is misused, says pharmacist Murad Younis of the Westmount Pharmacy in Peterborough.
“I think OxyContin is a good drug when you prescribe it to the right people,” he says, adding this medication is essential for some people who are in a legitimate amount of pain.
“I can’t say it’s not an addictive drug. It’s a bad drug for people who have a tendency to abuse drugs. I know it is a big problem.”
Part of the reason for the drug’s influence and power is because it is very addictive, a fact that until recently had been downplayed.
Prominent American pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma was recently ordered to pay $634.5 million in settlement fines after claiming, since 1996, that OxyContin was less addictive than other painkillers on the market, despite warnings from doctors, the media and members of its own sales team.
Mr. Younis says the drug is addictive but pharmacists are doing their best to try and regulate its use.
“Pharmacists make sure it is a legal prescription to make sure it isn’t a forgery. They always phone the physician. If the patient has OxyContin from the emergency (room) or surgery they (doctors) always inform the pharmacy. This is the rule of the pharmacist. The pharmacist can call the physician if they think the person is abusing the drug,” he explains.
While the increase in drug use is nothing new for Peterborough, more people are turning to OxyContin as the new form of ecstasy, says Const. Gillis.
Peggy Shaughnessy, founder of Whitepath Consulting and Counseling services, says the problem in Peterborough is only going to get worse until it is attacked head-on.
“We have a really severe problem in our city. I’ve seen kids as young as 14 selling it in schools,” she says.
Few solutions remain for people suffering from an OxyContin addiction, Ms Shaughnessy explains, as usually only counselling and methadone treatments can fix the problem.
“It’s beyond an addiction, it’s a desperation. Coming off of OxyContin is like having the flu 20 times over. They really need support coming off of it.”
While many methadone clinics deal with the problem in town, the fact remains this drug has been in Peterborough for years and is not leaving anytime soon. Neither are any of the other drugs, states Ms Shaughnessy.
“Society’s been demanding narcotics and painkillers for a very long time. I think we always have to beware that these medications were developed for a reason. These pills have been established for chronic pain,” she says.
“There will always be people who abuse something, but there’s people who abuse coffee breaks too. Our concern should be why people are becoming addicts. Something will replace OxyContin and you and I will have this conversation again.”
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