Oxycodone To Heroin Research Paper

“Hill Billy Heroin,” “Poor Man’s Heroin,” or “Oxy” all refer to the pharmaceutical drug oxycodone. First introduced in 1917 in Germany, oxycodone was created to treat chronic or severe short-term pain. It is available in a pill form with several different potencies. In the pill form, it is designed to be swallowed whole; the formula is designed to release slowly into the bodies system to prevent over-dosing. What begins as a simple prescription for a patient, has the potential to become habit forming. It takes between five to seven days for one to become addicted and experience withdrawal symptoms comparable to heroin users. Oxycodone is a class II drug because of its high dependency rate. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all

There was a study done in Australia about the connection of oxycodone and heroin. Oxycodone is referred to “Hilly Billy Heroin,” because many people view it as the gateway drug to heroin. Heroin, a Class II drug, has similar health consequences, like dependency, emergency room visits, and over dose deaths. The transition of oxycodone to Heroin happens between two to three years after the first use of oxycodone. Beginning as a prescription drug for severe or chronic pain, oxycodone gradually becomes a silent addiction. The patients may experience less pain and a high, ultimately creating a desire for more medication. After the initial first week, the desire has moved from a simple want to a need. The body begins to crave more, as the patient desires to feel the high again. After the first few weeks of being addicted, the original dosage no longer helps. The desire for a stronger pill or more medication causes patients to crush their pills and snort it. This allows for the oxycodone to enter the bodies system rapidly. Ultimately, snorting the crushed pills result in overdose, which creates the high feeling for the user. After snorting the crushed oxycodone, the next step the users in the study took was injecting the crushed pills into their bodies. As a result, the people’s desires were not fulfilled as their tolerance level increased. Heroin was the final step in many of the user’s addiction, either ending in death or overdose (Dertadian, George C., and Lisa Maher 102-04). Sharing unclean needles, heroin, which began as an addiction for oxycodone, has been one of the leading causes for the spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Over 45,256 heroin users have contracted AIDS by sharing needles (Sullivan). Ending up in the hospital, many heroin users had to go through intense treatment program to help them through the withdrawal process, while they are left to deal with AIDS. Oxycodone has the