New Report Shows Heavy Misuse of Oxycodone, HydrocodoneJuly 28, 2004
Research Summary
New data from emergency rooms shows that 40 percent of the 119,000 cases in 2002 where narcotic pain medications were mentioned involved oxycodone or hydrocodone, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).The findings in the report on "Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, and Polydrug Use, 2002" is based on data from SAMHSA's Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).
Oxycodone or hydrocodone are marketed under numerous brand names, including Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet.
"The abuse of narcotic pain relievers is a serious and growing public-health problem," said SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie. "Narcotic pain medications are wonders of modern medicine for patients with serious pain who are under the care of physicians. When diverted from their legitimate use, however, they are highly addictive narcotics that the body perceives exactly as if the person were taking heroin."
Of the 42,808 drug-misuse related visits to emergency rooms involving either oxycodone or hydrocodone, 3,000 involved use of both drugs simultaneously. In addition, other drugs were involved in three-quarters of the cases.
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