Painkiller Opana, new scourge of rural America
MANY SOURCES
The Opana problem has been reported by abuse experts around the country. In Florida, for example, the number of oxymorphone-related deaths rose to 493 in 2010, an increase of 109 percent from the previous year, according to Jim Hall, director of a drug abuse center at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
Some users and dealers get painkillers from so-called “pill mills” - storefront pain clinics that sell drugs for cash up front, often to out of-state buyers who take them for resale.
But the other way users get pills is from their doctors, or by buying from seniors looking to supplement a fixed income. One Opana pill brings up to $90 on the street depending on dosage, so it is tempting to sell, said Scott County Sheriff Dan McClain.
A woman in her late 70s was arrested in Austin, Indiana for exchanging pills for work around her house, McClain said.
ADVERSE REACTIONS
Adverse reactions reported at (≥2%) in placebo-controlled trials were: nausea, constipation, dizziness, somnolence, vomiting, pruritus, headache, sweating increased, dry mouth, sedation, diarrhea, insomnia, fatigue, appetite decreased, and abdominal pain.
In clinical trials there were several adverse events that were more frequently observed in subjects 65 and over compared to younger subjects. These adverse events included dizziness, somnolence, confusion, and nausea.
“Most of what I see is people with a prescription from their doctors and they need the money,” said Austin, Indiana Police Detective Lonnie Noble. He said the appetite for Opana is “more aggressive” than it was for Oxycontin.
Nashville, Tennessee Detective Michael Donaldson, who also has seen an increase in Opana abuse, said many small towns have “dirty doctors” willing to give out unneeded prescriptions.
Scott County is one of the poorest areas in Indiana, with a median household income of $39,588 in 2010. It was a hot spot for oxycodone retail distribution in 2010, with 48.79 per capita dosage units - the highest in the state, according to Lori Croasdell, a coordinator for CEASe of Scott County, a drug abuse prevention group.
A northern section of Austin in Scott County showed signs of poverty and neglect. Run-down trailers and houses with broken windows and peeling paint were mixed in among well-kept homes and tidy gardens.
McClain said the drugs cause a vicious cycle of poverty, since abusers cannot hold a job. “Most of them sleep until noon, get up, and try to find a way to get another pill,” said McClain.
One reason for the rise in prescription pill abuse is that Americans feel they can fix any problem - pain, depression, anxiety, hopelessness - with a pill, according to Shane Avery, a Scott County doctor. And some doctors, who may mean well but fear being sued for undertreating pain, give out pills better suited for cancer patients to soothe a backache, Avery said.
“The people who abuse prescription medications know how to doctor shop,” said Collins, the Scott County coroner.
###
(Reuters)