i think a lot of it just comes from pure ignorance of drugs. the same way molly and ecstasy both mean the same and different things. go to the pharmacy aisle at store and you’ll see so many people shelling out 3-4x the price for brand name Tylenol over generic acetaminophen. they’re the same medication, one just costs way more for the name. the only actual difference between brand name and generic is maybe different fillers are used sometimes. people waste their money on the brand name because they don’t get that it’s literally the same thing, usually due to either laziness or ignorance. these things take on the brand name. i refer say tylenol more often than acetaminophen when simply referring to it. obviously not everything does but, tylenol, benadryl, nyquil, band-aid. it’s common.
it’s the same way with illicit drugs. percocet is name brand oxycodone (or at least one of its brands + acetaminophen.) plenty of people don’t know that percocet is just oxy + APAP and think percocet is it’s own thing. plenty of people know it’s oxy but think something is different about it. same way with Vicodin/hydrocodone, roxicodone/oxy, you name it. people get DXM robotripping and lean/codeine confused just because they’re both cough syrup. oxy is one of the most popular opioids and percocet specifically was adopted by pop culture through memes, music, etc. so percocet frequently gets specifically referred to more than other painkillers. so a lot of people hear of percocet but don’t hear/connect the dots that it’s just a brand name for oxy.
over time i’ve learned that the average person is incredibly ignorant when it comes to medication- illicit or not. they simple just… don’t know much about it and many people refuse to learn. tons of people dont even remember the names of meds that they get prescribed let alone what they do. i know i’m a nerd about meds/drugs more than most but personally i dont understand it. it takes no time to look at the back of 2 boxes of motrin and ibuprofen and compare them, or to google it. but then again there’s people who will take gas station boner pills without reading or knowing a single ingredient. so idk lotta people just aren’t the brightest