OxyContin contains oxycodone hydrochloride in doses varying from 10 mg to 160 mg. Oxycodone hydrocholoride is an opioid that blocks pain receptors in the brain, which can provide the user with pain relief for up to 12 hours. OxyContin was actually a prescription medication, but due to the rise in addicts and break-ins at pharmacies, most drugstores refuse to carry OxyContin.
In 1998 it was estimated that 1.6 million Americans used prescription medication for non-medical reasons. The number of OxyContin emergency cases increased by 37% from 1998 to 1999 and again from 1999 to 2000.
OxyContin continues to hold the spot of most effective pain killers today, because it does not have a threshold of effectiveness like other pain relieving medications. In other words, the more OxyContin one takes, the more pain relief he/she feels. While Aspirin will be ineffective with four times the recommended dosage, OxyContin will provide four times the relief. Knowing this, it is not surprising this medication is being abused.
However, just as with anything that people abuse, there are consequences to pay for abusing OxyContin. OxyContin is an addictive drug, and just like all other addictive drugs, over prolonged use the person abusing it begins to build tolerance. Due to this tolerance, they will ingest more and more of the drug in order to achieve the same feeling. Thus, an overdose becomes more likely.
In fact, just one large dosage of OxyContin is enough to cause severe respiratory depression and death. OxyContin may still be a prescription drug, but should never be taken by those who do not need it or in the wrong dose.