OxyContin Overdose

OxyContin was reported to play a role in Heath Ledger’s death. It had politician Patrick Kennedy running to rehab. It’s even brought down several of rock’s biggest guitar gods. But teens see those tabloid headlines and read the tragic stories and still feel invincible. Some are so willing to gamble with their health that they attend “pill parties,” where kids clean out their parents’ medicine cabinets and share the contents with friends, with no regard for the warning labels or long-term effects. 

A popular drug to misuse is OxyContin, a brand name, time-release formula of oxycodone that has been on the market for more than a decade. It’s a bestseller among prescription pain relievers and that popularity has led to the preponderance of pills floating around out there, just waiting for eager teens to get their hands on them.

What those teens don’t usually bother to find out is that OxyContin is part of the opiate family, along with scarier-sounding drugs like morphine, heroin and codeine. This powerful prescription painkiller is usually given to relieve pain associated with bone fractures, arthritis, lower back pain, bursitis, dislocations and pain from cancer. OxyContin is a highly addictive drug, with even legal users relying on medical assistance to wean themselves off it once their pain is gone.

OxyContin Fatality

But you don’t need to become addicted to be hurt by OxyContin. Because it’s a time-release formula, if the pills are crushed then the entire dose hits the user’s system at the same time, with potentially fatal results. The most serious risk with OxyContin use is the depression of respiration. Breathing can become so shallow that it can lead to death.