When you say OC around most people these days no longer do they think you’re referring to Orange County. More often than not they’ll ask whether you have 40’s or 80’s (milligram tablets) of OxyContin, or other oxycodone based drugs. It doesn’t take a prognosticator to correlate exponentially rising painkiller distribution and trafficking with a sharp increase in opioid addictions. Truthfully I thought this was an American phenomenon until I came across this story about oxycodone addictions in the London Free Press appropriately called Social Cost Soars. I think the title is so apt because it works on several levels including the economic costs when referring to social services and health care and then again when referring to the burden addiction places upon families.
Canadian clinics that treat opioid addictions are seeing theses cases surpassing the incidence level of traditional illicit drug addictions, “…opioid addiction is reaching the levels of crack, cocaine and cannabis problems in Woodstock, Strathroy and St. Thomas and has surpassed crack, cocaine and cannabis in Ingersoll.” The rate addiction has become so rampant that even the dealers are getting wary of the aggressive users. Sergeant Dave MacDonald of a London police drug unit says “People on the street, they would rather deal with people on crack.”
Back home in the States, we know that in less than ten years OxyContin sales have increased by over 500 %. You can blame this on the big drug companies and their misleading marketing campaigns and you would be right. But you could also blame it on those doctor shopping and the medical professionals who enable this behavior.
Strangely enough now that high-profile arrests and prosecutions by state and federal authorities have limited the rise of illicit prescriptions and doctor shopping, we may see a spike in heroin and other illegal drugs when those addicted search out other sources to get their fix. Regardless of the drug of choice one thing is certain, the problem will only continue to get worse until authorities place as big a priority on prevention and treatment as they do prosecution.
