Health Class Research Paper, “Is Oxycodone and Oxycontin the Same Thing?”?

Question by babe*wanna*fly: Health Class Research Paper, “is oxycodone and oxycontin the same thing?”?
I keep getting this question deleted, and it a topic for my health class, it is our “hugs not drugs” week, for our school.

So is oxycodone and oxycontin the same thing?
And how do teens abuse these drugs.

Best answer:

Answer by Rose
They are the same and not the same. Oxycodone is a shorter acting form of the drug, which is an opiode pan reliever. Oxycontin is the longer acting pure form of the drug. Both are misused. Teens misuse them the way anyone else does. They take them without a prescription in an attempt to get high. Some steal them from parents and grandparents on the drugs legitimately, some buy it off the street. Both are illegal and stupid. These are hefty drugs and are dangerous in the hands of a know nothing teen.

Answer by Ansel
I agree with the previous response that you should google this. I won’t go into the details in specific methods of abusing the drugs. I can tell you that oxycontin has often been abused before a person gets into heroin. From what I’ve seen the withdrawals are similar but oxycontin is much more expensive than heroin. So when an addict’s habit gets too expensive with the oxy they can turn to heroin to maintain their habit and avoid the withdrawals.

I also know that recently a very positive thing has happened with the oxycontin. The drug itself is not a bad thing. It really does help people who suffer from chronic pain and when taken as prescribed the side effects are minimal. The new development is that the drug company(ies) have figured out how to make it difficult if not impossible to abuse the new version of oxycontin. The drug is made to be released over time. The addict will do something to the drug so it is released all at once. The new version of the drug makes this very difficult if not impossible. The is very good because it would be unfortunate if those who suffer from chronic pain and find relief from oxycontin could no longer get the drug because of the widespread abuse .

I don’t know too much about oxycodone. I do know that percocet contains oxycodone and the ingredient that is contained in tylenol. I also think there is a small amount of caffeine in it. Percocet’s are not time release as far as I know.

Both drugs are in the opiate family. They are both physically and psychologically addictive. In your paper consider stating the difference between “dependency” and “addiction or abuse” — many people who are prescribed these drugs become dependent. Their doctors will taper them off the drugs as the need for them diminishes. The addict consumes the drugs for the “high” and eventually to avoid the withdrawals which can be horrific. I have seen good people of all ages destroy their lives with these drugs.

Another consideration for your paper is the relationship between heroin (specifically black tar) and oxycontin. There is an epidemic of heroin abuse that is only starting to get some attention. As I mentioned heroin often follows oxycontin abuse because it is less expensive. But there are also teenagers who are now trying heroin for the first time – even before alcohol or marijuana. Google “Stanwood washington heroin abuse”. Stanwood is a small town, no different from many small towns around the country. There are more than 40 high school students in rehab for heroin addiction.

Finally, I want to encourage you again to Google this topic. www.samhsa.gov is a very good resource and citation for your paper.

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