Heroin deaths surge in Fla. following pill crackdown

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

pills and syringeFlorida has taken a number of measures to combat its prescription drug addiction problem, with the unintended consequence of the resurgence of heroin as a popular substitute for painkillers. From July 2010 to June 2011, there were 45 heroin-related deaths statewide, according to this article, which cites data from the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. That number jumped to 77 heroin-related deaths from July 2011 to June 2012, the article says.

The article also notes that addiction treatment numbers are up in Florida, with treatment centers in Broward County seeing an 87% increase in admissions in 2012 among addicts using heroin as their drug of choice, up from 169 to 316; in Miami-Dade County, such admissions jumped from 227 to 308 in the first half of 2012.

It was reported earlier this year that while the number of oxycodone-related deaths in Florida plunged during the first half of 2012 compared with the same period in 2011, heroin-related deaths were holding steady.

Florida’s crackdown on painkiller abuse has resulted in the number of pill mills in the state dropping from 854 to 580 between March 2011 and March 2012, according to this article.  Read more...

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Generic Opana to remain on the market: FDA

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

PillsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will continue to allow sales of the generic version of the painkiller Opana that does not include an abuse-resistant feature.

Opana’s manufacturer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, had submitted a petition to the agency asking it to ban generic forms of the painkiller, which Endo has reformulated as “Opana ER” to make it harder to abuse. That petition was denied by the FDA, which said Endo’s reformulation was not significantly safer than the original version:

While there is an increased ability of the reformulated version of Opana ER to resist crushing relative to the original formulation, study data show that the reformulated version’s extended-release features can be compromised when subjected to other forms of manipulation, such as cutting, grinding, or chewing, followed by swallowing. Reformulated Opana ER can be readily prepared for injection, despite Endo’s claim that these tablets have “resistance to aqueous extraction (i.e., poor syringeability).” It also appears that reformulated Opana ER can be prepared for snorting using commonly available tools and methods.

Endo’s petition came after Purdue Pharma successfully asked the FDA to ban any generic versions of OxyContin based on the powerful painkiller’s original formulation, which does not include anti-abuse features designed to make it more difficult to crush, break, or dissolve.

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Heroin addiction vaccine on the horizon?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

ijectionScientists are developing a vaccine to treat heroin addiction, and it has proven effective in keeping drug-addicted rats from relapsing in a preclinical trial, according to this article in Popular Science. Researchers from the Scripps Research Institute in California revealed in a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that the vaccine is now ready for human trials.

The vaccine apparently generates antibodies that bind heroin and its metabolites in the bloodstream, preventing them from making their way to the brain. The vaccine “essentially keeps the body from experiencing the fun parts of drug use, like euphoria and pain obstruction,” the article says.

According to the article:

In the study, rats were trained to press a lever three times to receive an injection of heroin. During 12-hour periods of self-administrated access to the drug, the addicted rats began taking heroin compulsively in greater and greater quantities. Then the researchers removed the heroin for 30 days and gave some of the rats the vaccine. After the period of abstention, they were re-exposed to freely accessible heroin. Rats that didn’t receive the treatment resumed taking the drug in increasing quantities, while those that received the treatment didn’t redevelop the compulsion.  Read more...

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N.J. county sees heroin ODs skyrocket

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

overdoseIn New Jersey, where drug overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death, one county is experiencing a massive uptick in heroin overdoses as prescription painkiller addicts make the switch to the illegal street drug. In two years, heroin has claimed at least 50 lives in Bergen County and has its grasp on hundreds more who became hooked through painkillers such as OxyContin and Opana, according to this article. As compared to pills, heroin, at $5 per bag, is far cheaper, potent, and widely available, the article notes.

The widespread painkiller addiction epidemic has fueled the rise of heroin use nationwide, particularly among suburban youth. Between 2007 and 2011, the number of users went from 373,000 to 620,000, according to federal data, and heroin-dependent young adults more than doubled to 109,000 between 2009 and 2011, according to the article.

Legislators in New Jersey are currently considering implementing a law that would grant immunity to those who dispense and administer naloxone, a medication that counters the effects of overdoses from opiates like OxyContin and heroin. The Opioid Antidote and Overdose Prevention Act would allow medical providers to prescribe naloxone and allow people to administer the drug to overdose victims without fear of being prosecuted. It would also require that prescription recipients get information on how to prevent and recognize overdoses, as well as how to administer the medication and care for the overdose victim. Eight other states have similar laws.  Read more...

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Painkiller market to reach $8.4B by 2017: WSJ

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

pill money signPrescription painkiller sales are set to increase by 15% and hit $8.4 billion by 2017, due in part to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to ban any generic versions of OxyContin based on the powerful painkiller’s original formulation, which does not include anti-abuse features designed to make the pill harder to abuse. Experts are predicting a race across the pharmaceutical industry to create a market where all opioids have abuse-deterrent properties, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the FDA, “because original OxyContin provides the same therapeutic benefits as reformulated OxyContin, but poses an increased potential for certain types of abuse, the FDA has determined that the benefits of original OxyContin no longer outweigh its risks and that original OxyContin was withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness.”

OxyContin’s manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, reformulated the drug in 2010 to make it more difficult to crush, break, or dissolve; the reformulated pill forms a viscous hydrogel and cannot be easily prepared for injection. The FDA noted Tuesday that abuse of OxyContin by these routes, as well as the oral route, is still possible.  Read more...

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Painkiller abuse drives heroin ODs in Maine

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

heroinfoilLike many other areas that have struggled with prescription drug abuse, Maine is now seeing a dramatic spike in heroin overdoses as pill addicts make the switch to the illegal street drug. Portland city officials say that in the past month, they have responded to 14 reports of overdoses, and there have been three deaths from possible overdoses, according to this article.

On Wednesday alone, the Portland Fire Department provided emergency life-saving medical treatment to four people who had overdosed on heroin, while a fifth person was found dead in an apartment from a possible drug overdose, the article says.

One huge factor behind the switch to heroin is the reformulation of OxyContin, one of the most commonly abused painkillers.

The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that heroin use has risen to 239,000 users in 2010 from 213,000 in 2008 – likely as a result of painkiller addicts switching to the street drug.

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Awareness of ‘Good Samaritan’ laws still lacking

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

911 dial phone callAs of March 2013, drug overdose “Good Samaritan” laws were in effect in 10 states and the District of Columbia, and were being actively considered by at least a half-dozen state legislatures. But many people are unaware of these laws, or are still fearful of being arrested if they call for help for overdose victims, anecdotal evidence shows. For example, this article out of Chicago reports that in one county, 175 people have died of heroin overdoses since 2007. In many of those cases, the article says, the victims were surrounded by people when they overdosed, but no one called 911 for help – even though Illinois passed a Good Samaritan law last year.

Good Samaritan laws typically provide immunity from drug possession charges; immunity applies to a person who seeks medical aid during an overdose (for example, by calling 911 or taking someone to the ER), and to a person having an overdose.

Even though opiate overdoses are on the rise, many people don’t call 911 out of fear of arrest and prosecution, and instead rely on ineffective methods of reviving victims.

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Painkiller abuse among the elderly on the rise

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

elderly.pills.480Although prescription drug addiction is often portrayed as an issue affecting teens and young adults, America’s 78 million aging baby boomers are also experiencing the effects of the epidemic, according to this article in the New York Times. A 2011 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that among adults aged 50 to 59, the rate of current illicit drug use increased to 6.3% in 2011 from 2.7% in 2002; opiates were among the most commonly abused drugs, the article says.

Other studies have estimated that up to 10% of the elderly misuse prescription drugs with major abuse potential, most often anti-anxiety benzodiazepines like Klonopin, sleeping aids like Ambien, and opiate painkillers such as OxyContin, the article says. In addition, women far outnumber men when it comes to nonmedical use of prescription medication: 44% of women as opposed to 23% of men, according to SAMHSA.

One major generational difference seems to be that the elderly rarely use alcohol or drugs to “get high” — rather, they turn to alcohol and drugs in response to the physical and psychological pain due to medical and psychiatric illness, the loss of loved ones, or social isolation, the article notes.  Read more...

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Driven by pills, U.S. death overdose rates doubled since 1999

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

imgname--prescription_drug_abuse_on_the_rise---38647165--images--flickr_2931207680The rate of reported drug overdoses in the U.S. more than doubled between 1999 and 2010, with about half of the additional deaths falling under the pharmaceuticals category, according to this article in Popular Science. The data, which was compiled from WONDER, the CDC National Center for Health Statistics’ multiple cause of death database, showed that nearly three-quarters of the pharmaceuticals deaths were due to opioid analgesics such as OxyContin and Vicodin.

The CDC recently found that drug overdose deaths increased for the eleventh consecutive year in 2010. According to the agency, 38,329 people died from a drug overdose in the U.S. that year, up from 37,004 deaths in 2009.

Overdose deaths involving opioid analgesics have shown a similar increase, the CDC found: starting with 4,030 deaths in 1999, the number of deaths increased to 15,597 in 2009 and 16,651 in 2010.

In 2010, nearly 60% of the drug overdose deaths (22,134) involved pharmaceutical drugs. Opioid analgesics, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, were involved in about 3 of every 4 pharmaceutical overdose deaths (16,651), according to the CDC.

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Teen pill abuse up 33% since 2008: study

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Erin Marie Daly

pill bottlesOne in four teens has misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime – a 33% increase over the past five years – up from 18% in 2008, according to a new survey, The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), by the Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation. That translates to about 5 million teens.

In addition, one in eight teens reported that at least once in their lifetime, they had taken the stimulants Ritalin or Adderall when those medications weren’t prescribed for them, the survey found.

Even more disturbing was the fact that almost one in four teens (23%) said their parents didn’t care as much if they were caught using prescription drugs without a doctor’s prescription, as compared to getting caught with illegal drugs. And more than a quarter of teens (27%) mistakenly believed that misusing and abusing prescription drugs was safer than using street drugs, with 33% saying they believed it was “okay to use prescription drugs that were not prescribed to them to deal with an injury, illness or physical pain.”

Of those kids who said they abused prescription medications, one in five (20%) had done so before age 14, the survey found.

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