New choice for prescription abusers

To the editor:
Communities around the country have discovered that Opana is replacing OxyContin as the prescription drug of choice among prescription drug abusers. For the last several years, drug abusers preferred the extended-release version of OxyContin. OxyContin’s popularity has grown so much in recent years that it has become a household name.
Those using the drug would crush or dissolve the pill’s time-release coating to obtain the full effect of the drug. In August 2010 the manufacturer reformulated the drug, making it close to impossible to crush or dissolve. Therefore, those who depended on this drug had to find a replacement for it. This replacement just happened to be Opana.
Opana is a painkiller containing oxymorphone. It became available to the public in 2006. It is usually an octagon-shaped pill and varies in color depending on the dosage. The manufacturer of this pill has also completed a crush-resistant pill that was recently introduced to the market. As the current pills are phased out with the new pills, users will become more desperate to acquire the drug, thus resulting in criminal activities directly related to the acquisition of Opana. This was demonstrated recently by an armed robbery at a drug store in Fort Wayne where the perpetrator asked specifically for Opana.
Thankfully the manufacturer has made it harder to abuse Opana, but those looking for their next high will find a replacement for Opana just as they did for OxyContin. I have to ask the question as to why these manufacturers do not formulate their products this way to start instead of waiting until they are the street drug of choice. It is obvious that any painkiller is going to be a target for someone who abuses prescription drugs.
If these issues are of interest to you, please feel free to attend the next Jay County Drug Coalition meeting. It is scheduled for Aug. 27 at 3:30 p.m. at East Jay Middle School.
PJ Corwin, co-chair,
Jay County Drug
Prevention Coalition[[In-content Ad]]