Oxycodone
Oxycodone is a powerful opioid pain medication that was first synthesized in 1916 in Germany as a potential non-addictive alternative to traditional opioids like morphine and heroin. It became available in the United States in 1939, but its potential for abuse was not recognized until the 1950s, particularly with the introduction of Percodan, which combined oxycodone with aspirin. Classified as a Schedule II controlled substance, oxycodone is recognized for both its legitimate medical use and high potential for abuse. Its popularity surged in the U.S. in the late 1990s with Purdue Pharma's marketing of OxyContin, a controlled-release formulation that led to widespread misuse and addiction, often serving as a gateway to heroin use.
Oxycodone operates by binding to opioid receptors in the brain, effectively altering pain perception and elevating dopamine levels, which contributes to feelings of euphoria. While it can relieve pain effectively, the drug carries significant risks, including dependency, addiction, and various side effects such as nausea, dizziness, and constipation. Users may attempt to bypass its controlled-release mechanism to achieve a more intense high, increasing the potential for dangerous respiratory depression and long-term cognitive impairment. Given these factors, oxycodone must be used with caution and under strict medical supervision.
Oxycodone
Category: Substances
Also known as: Blue; hillbilly heroin; kicker; OC; OX; oxy; oxycotton
Definition: Oxycodone is an opioid analgesic similar to morphine. It has strong pain-relieving, sleep-inducing, and anxiety-relieving properties. Oxycodone is the active component in Percocet, Percodan, Tylox, and OxyContin.
Status: Legal by prescription in the United States and worldwide
Classification: Schedule II controlled substance
Source: Synthesized from thebaine, a constituent of the poppy plant
Transmission route: Ingested orally, snorted, or injected
History of Use
Oxycodone was first synthesized in 1916 at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. It was developed as a nonaddictive substitute for opioids including morphine, heroin, and codeine.
Oxycodone initially became available in the United States in 1939 but its abuse potential was not recognized until the 1950s, when Percodan, an oxycodone and aspirin combination, was introduced. As a result, all oxycodone-containing products are classified as schedule II controlled substances, the strictest classification for legal medications. Schedule II drugs are those with a high abuse potential and a legitimate medical use.
The illicit abuse of oxycodone dramatically increased in 1996 in the United States after the marketing by Purdue Pharma of OxyContin, the controlled-release prescription form of oxycodone. OxyContin, consumed for its relaxing and euphoric effects, became the best-selling narcotic pain reliever on the market.
Although oxycodone is not as potent as heroin, it remains one of the most highly addictive and widely abused prescription drugs of all time and has served as a gateway for many to heroin addiction. Despite numerous efforts to curb the illegal use of oxycodone-containing products, its abuse remains a major concern in the United States.
Effects and Potential Risks
Oxycodone is structurally similar to codeine and hydrocodone but pharmacologically resembles morphine. It acts through opioid receptors to alter the brain’s response to pain, lessening pain sensations. Like other opiates, oxycodone elevates dopamine levels, the neurotransmitter linked to pleasurable experiences.
Oxycodone’s short-term effects include a rush of euphoria and joy leading to a dreamy relaxed state. Negative short-term effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation, dizziness, and sedation.
Many people use oxycodone to achieve an opiate-like high, while others use it to minimize withdrawal symptoms of morphine and heroin addiction. Oxycodone users achieve the greatest high by bypassing OxyContin’s controlled-release mechanism, consuming the entire dose at once. Typically, pills are either chewed or crushed and snorted or mixed with a liquid and injected.
Oxycodone leads to dependency and addiction and must be used with extreme caution and supervision. Long-term abuse may affect brain functioning because of hypoxia (low blood-oxygen levels) in the brain that results from repeated respiratory depression.
Bibliography
Aquina, Christopher T., et al. “OxyContin Abuse and Overdose.” Postgraduate Medicine 121.2 (2009): 163–67. Print.
Bjornlund, Lydia. Oxycodone. San Diego: ReferencePoint, 2012. Print.
Ginther, Catherine. Drug Abuse Sourcebook. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2004.
Kuhar, Michael J., and Howard Liddle. Drugs of Abuse. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2012. Print.
Kuhn, Cynthia, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson. Buzzed: The Straight Facts about the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. New York: W. W. Norton, 2003.
Lew, Kristi. The Truth About Oxycodone and Other Narcotics. New York: Rosen, 2014. Print.
Montvilo, Robin Kamienny. Addiction and Substance Abuse. Ipswich: Salem, 2013. Print.