OxyContin Prescription Drug Abuse

On the surface, Oxycontin appears to be relatively harmless when you put it up against heroin. Small color coded pills with numbers indicating the dosage in milligrams look a lot cleaner and safer. Oxycontin's appearance is deceiving, beneath the pastel colored seal surface of the pills, there exists a killer. There is a growing concern as more young people are experimenting with pharmaceutical narcotics like Oxycontin and Xanax. Teenagers and young adults are playing with a fire that will inevitably burn them. Pharmaceutical pain medications like Oxycontin and Fentanyl have the same effect on the human body as heroin does, heroin is cut with other undesirables, but, essentially all strong opiates have the potential for overdose.

Joey Rovero's life was cut short because of drugs like Oxycontin and Xanax. Just a week before his death, Joey, drove to Southern California and paid a doctor $75 dollars. Rovero took home 90 OxyContin tablets, 30 Xanax and 90 muscle relaxants, his father said. How is that possible? What kind of medical problems would necessitate a college student being prescribed three drugs that can easily cause an overdose when mixed? It happens all the time and doctors know it, yet, they continue to prescribe these drugs to ostensibly healthy young adults.

Prescription narcotics have become an epidemic in America and doctors continue to throw fuel on the fire. Every bottle of Xanax and Oxycontin that gets prescribed to a college student is going to find its way into countless hands. Rovero sold half of his drugs to his addicted roommates before he overdosed and died. Who knows how far Rovero's drugs traveled before they were all used up, how many people used his drugs in conjunction with other drugs potentially overdosing themselves.

Prescription medication in America needs to be addressed, we need to educate more young adults about the dangers that exist. Opiates and sedatives in any form have the power to kill and will continue to do so as long as people think that they are clean and safe.