Jamaican ginger extract at the Museum of the American Cocktail. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
This week the New England Journal of Medicine published a new study conducted by the Washington University in St. Louis. The lead author is Theodore Cicero, professor of psychiatry. This study showed that the redesigned painkiller may be prompting addicts to turn to heroin. According to the ABC NEWS report:
"The study of more than 2,500 people with opioid dependence found a 17 percent drop in OxyContin abuse with the 2010 arrival of a formula that's harder to inhale or inject. During the same time period, heroin abuse doubled."
"Unlike its predecessor, the abuse-deterring version of OxyContin turns to gel when crushed, making it harder for people to snort or inject for a rapid high. But nearly a quarter of study participants found a way around the formulation tweak, and 66 percent said they switched to another opioid – usually heroin."Like prohibition, when the opioid addict has trouble getting the expensive legal drug, they turn to an illegal street drug (heroin) which is cheaper, but not pure and overdoses become common.
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