Literally right down the street...

[cheferson]

Big pharma's oxy's are at fault I bet . Drugs are ok as long as some corp is making money !

Seen too many young people start out popping pills, then start messing with Oxy's . Then when that gets to expensive to support their habit , they move on to snorting heroin . Eventually shooting . Saw many people I grew up with waste away . This was aquidneck island too .....

[Nebe]

15 years ago, all the heroin freaks used to hang out at that old brick mill building that as abandoned by the railroad tracks in Franklin.....

[5/0]

That's really to bad,Franklin is a very desirable town with allot of Heritage.

[GregW]

Originally Posted by cheferson

Big pharma's oxy's are at fault I bet . Drugs are ok as long as some corp is making money !

Seen too many young people start out popping pills, then start messing with Oxy's . Then when that gets to expensive to support their habit , they move on to snorting heroin . Eventually shooting . Saw many people I grew up with waste away . This was aquidneck island too .....

How is someone illegally popping pills any one else's fault?

[OLD GOAT]

I've read in the news papper that oxyneo will replace oxycontin next year in Canada anyway.
I've read that it's safer,,so they say.

[bart]

Originally Posted by OLD GOAT

I've read in the news papper that oxyneo will replace oxycontin next year in Canada anyway.
I've read that it's safer,,so they say.

There are other replacements already. OPs instead of OCs( they turn to gel when crushed so they can't be snorted). Opanas, which are a combination of Oxycodone and Percocet. They all get abused. The damage is already done.

[cheferson]

Originally Posted by GregW

How is someone illegally popping pills any one else's fault?

What KarL F said above for starters .

Here's more

Marketing and misbranding

Critics have accused Purdue Pharma of putting profits ahead of public interest by applying "significant political pressure" to attempt to reverse South Carolina's requiring prior approval before a person with Medicaid can receive the drug;[53] for "fail[ing] to adequately warn consumers of the risks" of OxyContin such as dependence;[54] and for promoting the drug "aggressively" and by means such as "promotional beach hats, pedometers and swing-music CDs."[54][55]

In May 2007 Purdue Pharma "agreed to pay $19.5 million" in fines relating to aggressive off-label marketing practices of OxyContin in 26 states and the District of Columbia.[56] In specific, the company encouraged dosing more frequent than the recommended interval of 12 hours, and did not fully disclose the risk of hazardous or harmful use.[56]

Later in May 2007 Purdue Pharma and three of its top executives pleaded guilty in a Virginia federal court to charges that they misbranded OxyContin by representing it to have "less euphoric effect and less abuse potential" than it actually has, and by claiming that people taking the drug at low doses could stop taking it suddenly without symptoms of withdrawal.[57] The FDA had not approved these claims.[58] The company and the executives were to pay $634 million in fines for felony and misdemeanor misbranding.[57]

In October 2007, officials in Kentucky filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for misleading health care providers and consumers "regarding the appropriate uses, risks and safety of OxyContin"; as of mid-2008, however, the case had been "consolidated with other lawsuits into a single multi-litigation suit" in a federal court in New York.[59]

[bart]

Again, Chef is right on the money. same with Karl F. Easy to say these people are scum til one of your kids or friends starts doing pills, because there isn't the same social stigma attached to Percs like Heroin. I blame the user, but I also blame Purdue and the irresponsible doctors who write 'scrips just to make an extra buck. A lot of blame to go around. BTW, Oxys are more addictive than heroin. I may be wrong, but I believe the same chemicals that exist in heroin are in opiates as well..

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by bart

I blame the user, but I also blame Purdue and the irresponsible doctors who write 'scrips just to make an extra buck. A lot of blame to go around. BTW, Oxys are more addictive than heroin. I may be wrong, but I believe the same chemicals that exist in heroin are in opiates as well..

I have to take a little bit of contention to the above. My fiance works as a primary care PA. Every day she is dealing with people that lie, cheat, fake, act and whatever else necessary to convince her that they "need something for the pain." And this isn't some crap doctor's office in the center of Dorchester... it's in Mansfield.

The difficulty comes from liability. She does whatever she can to *not* give out pain scripts - has put together a pain contract, requires drug testing and regular visits. But, she always has to battle with that one person who can "prove" they legitimately have pain and she refused to treat it and she'll be in court.

The system is broken. If I need to buy a decongestant, the pharmacist scans my license, I have to sign a form and the government limits the amount you can buy - all for a damn decongestant because some meth heads may try to cook up some drugs with the ephedrine. However, there is no system in place for pain pills. Many pharmacies self-regulate and the Misses gets the occasional call from the pharmacy "Hey, are you aware that Mr Jones filled out a pain script two days ago that was written by a surgeon? Oh and 2 weeks ago they filled a pain script written by a dentist." But, they scumbag has to fill the script at the same pharmacy for that system to work.

With regards to the chemical contents: Oxycontin, percocet, oxycodone and similar drugs are all opiods and made with chemicals that are essentially a legal version of heroin. Pretty much all have very similar chemicals in them.

Working as and EMT for 5 years when I was younger and having people in my family with addiction issues... I can sympathize with the family and the terrible ills that they go through. I also really sympathize for people that did have an injury, legitimately needed something to manage their pain and then formed an addiction. However, I can't find an ounce of sympathy for the person who created their own problems and should be held responsible for the choices they made. Alcoholics, pill-poppers, junkies, smokers and anyone else that's made their bed should be expected to sleep in it. If they turn to crime to support their habit, then they're now criminals. It's the decision they made. Addiction may be forcing their hand today, but it didn't do so in the beginning.