Decades ago, in 1913, the government stopped the Bayer company from producing heroin. Prior to that time, it was legal. But when the dangers became known, the government took a stand. Now the question is – why isn’t the government taking the same stand on OxyContin when it’s almost identical to heroin and causes the same effect?

Purdue Pharma, OxyContin’s manufacturer, tried to pull a fast one on the FDA by claiming OxyContin was less addictive than other painkillers on the market. They were successful – they got FDA approval and the sales of the drug took off like wildfire. Years later, after disastrous effects on thousands of users and their families, the government finally caught on and sued Purdue for lying about the dangers of the drug.

Purdue pled guilty and was fined $634 million, a slap on the wrist for a company that makes billions, but no one went to jail, and the drug stayed on the market.

More and more people are showing up in drug rehab centers for OxyContin treatment, but the drug is still legal, still being manufactured, and still prescribed by doctors. And you can get it on the street from pushers all over the U.S.

Why is it okay to continue to sell this drug when it wasn’t okay to sell heroin? Some people don’t think it is. If you’re one of them – sign the petition to ban OxyContin. 

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I saw a news item today about a 54-year-old woman being jailed for selling prescription drugs in North Carolina – where drug investigators say prescription drug abuse is becoming as prevalent as other drugs. Painkillers, as usual, are very common – you can get a drug rehab for OxyContin abuse now, by the way, and for other prescription drugs, but make sure you find a facility that has some experience with them rather than just with street drugs.

The woman who was arrested may or may not have been selling the drugs to help support herself, but there are some older people who actually do that. They can’t live on their social security checks, so they take to drug dealing. Very sad, in many ways.

In this area of North Carolina the police say everyone from high-school students to seniors are re-selling prescription drugs.

You have to watch out for that stuff with kids – it’s especially prevalent in high school and college age – because a lot of people think the drugs are safe since they came from a doctor. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, a lot of people became addicted to prescription drugs when they got them from their doctor, not from some kind of illegal use.

Watch your medicine cabinets – that’s probably where the prescription drugs being sold came from.

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