The Genie’s out of the Bottle

Canada - The country has stringent rules, high profile awareness campaigns and major efforts have been to made to reign in drug formats that can be easily abused. Canada’s is No 2 in Prescription Drug Abuse Despite Sobering Efforts Drug Treatment Centres Full of People Addicted to Drugs That Should Be Off The Streets.

Why should Canada be the No 2 Prescription drug abusing country in the world?

The country has stringent rules, high profile awareness campaigns and major efforts have been to made to reign in drug formats that can be easily abused. Problem drugs have even been altered and repackaged with “tamper proof” formulas. Still Drug and Alcohol Treatment centres are full of people who are addicted to drugs that are supposed to be effectively off the streets.

Aderall, benzedrine, Oxycontin, Ambien, Dilaudid, Xanax, Oxymorphone are just some of the prescription drugs that are being regularly abused in Canada. But the story of Oxycontin illustrates the problem of once you let the genie out of the bottle, it’s very hard to put it back in.

Narcotics Made My Pharmaceutical Companies Are A New Addiction Craze

Beginning in the late 1980s pharmaceutical companies began manufacturing extremely powerful narcotic tablets that packed twelve hours worth of painkiller into a single pill. For people with chronic pain, that meant taking a pain pill twice daily. However, very quickly, addicts and recreational users discovered that they could get high by chewing, crushing or dissolving these pills. They would then get the entire 12 hours worth of narcotic in one shot. They also learned with certain drugs if they if injected, smoked or snort it to get a high similar to heroin. OxyContin soon became one of the most frequent and most deadly drugs of abuse.

When government and pharmaceutical companies realized that drug addicts were turning to prescription drugs in droves, drug makers began working on a type of OxyContin pill that could not be crushed or dissolved.They created so-called “tamper-proof” pills which could not be crushed or powdered effectively. A solution to the problem? Not exactly.

Tamper Proof Strategies Against Addiction Are Failing

For a number of reasons, tamper-proof pills have not solved the prescription drug crisis. Many addicts simply swallow the tamper proof pills as they are. Compared to crushing or chewing, it may take more time to get high. But if you take a lot of them, the person will, with the obvious risks of overdose.

But there is also a second aspect to this. The fact OxyContin was tamper proof simply motivated addicts to experiment with other narcotics to get high. Once addicts realized that prescription drugs packed a punch, they kept searching for more. Addicts turned to Xanax and deadly Fentanyl among others. Overdose deaths due to fentanyl are sharply on the rise. Tamper proof pills or campaigns to make prescription drugs safe from abuse are having little effect according to some experts.

Prescription Drug Addiction is Surging Drug and Alcohol Treatment Centres Report

The genie is out of the bottle literally and as long as powerful narcotics are being prescribed, they are being abused. And sadly, North America leads the way with America as the No 1 abuser of prescription drugs and Canada following close behind. Relieved of their packaging prescription drugs have none of the safety features a carefully manufactured drug might have.

Add alcohol, as many addicts do, and you have a potent and lethal mix. Don’t fool yourselves. The problem is far from being solved. It might be more effective to spend energy on social strategies to combat addiction as well better access to treatment. New methods of treatment are emerging for prescription addiction.

The drugs have been developed. We can’t go back. The genie is out of the bottle. We need better ways to keep people away from new addictive substances and more options once they do become addicted.

If you need help with a prescription drug problem. Make the call. 1-877-777-4386

If you are seeking more information about treatment options for substance use disorders please reach out, we have compassionate and knowlegeable people ready to answer your questions. Send us a message today