Drug and Alcohol Rehab Blog

From Oxycontin to Methadone

August 1, 2007 on 1:43 pm | In Uncategorized |

The recent conviction of the company and several executives who make and promoted the prescription painkiller Oxycontin led to a $634 million fine.  Sure, that’s good, but the drug is still being prescribed and people are still getting addicted to it.  The AP article last week announcing this read: “From 1996 to 2001, the number of oxycodone-related deaths nationwide increased fivefold while the annual number of OxyContin prescriptions increased nearly 20-fold, according to a report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. In 2002, the DEA said the drug caused 146 deaths and contributed to another 318.” 

My question is this, if people are outraged over Oxycontin and it’s addictive and deadly qualities, what about methadone.  It is actually given to addicts, telling them it will help them get off of heroin as a form of drug addiction treatment, yet the drug is implicated in ten times the number of deaths as Oxycontin.  What is going to happen to people who make and sell methadone (or even those who condone its use)?  It should be something very heavy, and a fine just won’t cut it.