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News: The Mercury - 4/10/10 "Pain pills' deadly Tassie toll"

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SeveredPsyche

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Pain pills' deadly Tassie toll
DAVID KILLICK | October 03, 2010 08.34am

IT'S called hillbilly heroin and it has killed more than 60 Tasmanians in just two years.

The silently spreading epidemic of oxycodone abuse has become so serious the State Government is launching the most concerted attack on prescription drug misuse in a generation.

The powerful narcotic analgesic is one of the drugs that killed Heath Ledger and it was found in the body of Michael Jackson after his death.

It can be deadly when used without medical supervision or in combination with other drugs or alcohol.

Increasingly being diverted from legitimate users, oxycodone is used by up to three in every five injecting drug users, who report it is readily available on the street at up to $100 a tablet.

Prescribing of the drug has tripled in recent years as overwhelmed GPs give in to escalating patient demands.

Oxycodone is now more widely abused than heroin as part of a worldwide trend that has hit Tasmania especially hard.

Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne said rapid action is needed to cut the number of deaths.

"Diversion of prescription opioids is a particular issue in this state because there is a restricted supply of heroin for illicit drug use," she said.

"Tasmania's illicit drug users continue to inject prescription drugs at a higher rate than other states and territories often with terrible consequences, such as loss of limbs or death.

"Use or misuse of opioids has been identified as a factor in 61 deaths in Tasmania in 2007 and 2008.

"These are shocking figures and we are taking comprehensive action to try to reduce this toll."

The State Government will soon introduce Australia's first real-time drug reporting system to flag how and where the drug gets on the streets.

Doctors will be able to see exactly which drugs their patients have been prescribed by other practitioners, cutting down on doctor-shopping.

In addition will come tighter prescribing rules, better education for GPs and more funding to help treat addiction.

"This is an area we really have to move on in health, not only for the administration of this sort of drug access, but also when you're discharged from the hospital," Ms O'Byrne said.

"Your doctor should be able to see the records you were discharged with, the information you were given.

"When you present at emergency, the emergency treating physician should be able to know what your doctor told you to do last week."

Statewide Clinical Director of Alcohol and Drug Services for the DHHS, Adrian Reynolds, said part of the push against the abuse of oxycodone would be an education program to help doctors better cope with the increasing demands of patients who want access to the drug.

"We haven't equipped our doctors with the skills and knowledge they need to manage pain medicine on the basis of best available evidence," Dr Reynolds said.

"That's a challenge we're now starting to pay serious attention to.

"The number of requests for an authority to prescribe [these] drugs in Tasmania has increased from 2500 in 2004 this year it's going to go over the 7000 mark.

"So we've nearly tripled the number of applications from GPs to seek authority under the Poisons Act to prescribe these drugs."

He said it was clear the state had a problem with oxycodone abuse.

"We don't have great data ... we don't know exactly but it's certainly a worrisome figure and it's increasing.

"The World Health Organisation mid this year issued a media release saying the number of people with addictions to prescription opioids had overtaken heroin, so we're not alone in this problem."

Health Department Statewide Mental Health Services CEO John Crawshaw says sadly many people who need pain medication are sometimes being coerced into handing over their drugs to other people.

"We do know that people with chronic pain are vulnerable and are stood over, that's the reality," he said.

"So then they go back to their doctor to get a repeat script, which they actually need."

He said the new system would help to cut down on the problem.

"It's not about punishing individuals, it's saying 'you've got a problem, can we give you better help?' if someone is needing lots of scripts or someone is being stood over or misusing it."

Sally Upton, from the Salvation Army's Bridge Program, says the problem of prescription drug abuse had become more apparent in recent years, particularly coupled with other addictions.

"With prescription drug use the majority of our clients who come through here with problems are related to pain management issues and the lack of previous intervention for pain management.

"It's certainly becoming more obvious in the community," she said.

"People are identifying it as an issue and making contact with us.

"I think also a lot of prescription drug use is more accessible than street drugs."

She urged anyone with prescription drug problems to contact the Bridge Program for help.

PRESCRIBED PAINKILLERS DIVERTED TO BLACK MARKET

  • Oxycodone is a prescription opioid analgesic that is used for the treatment of moderate to severe pain.
  • Various preparations of the government-subsidised drug are sold under names including Oxycontin, OxyNorm and MS-Contin and Endone.
  • It is commonly given to hospital patients as take-home pain control.
  • A recent analysis of PBS data between 1992 and 2007 revealed that prescriptions for opioids had almost tripled from 2.4 million to 7 million scripts, with the number of opioid preparations growing from 11 to 70.
  • Researchers found oxycodone use rose slowly until 2000 then saw a dramatic increase, which continues.
  • Sometimes known as hillbilly heroin, the drug is increasingly available through illicit channels after being obtained through legitimate means.
  • A 2007 Australian Crime Commission report put the price of a single tablet at between $50 and $70 on the illicit market.
  • The state's Health Department puts the current price higher: 20 MS Contin 100mg tablets may be worth as much as $2000 on the black market.
Click to expand...

The Mercury
 
Great post SeveredPsyche. This way we can keep the price displayed on Bl now that there is no longer a price thread. I was amazed when I first heard how much they were going for.

Something will have to change soon.
 
Thank you for pointing out the inconsistency regarding the ingredient in MS-Contin severedpsyche. You'd think a journalist could spend 10 seconds on google or wiki to check that :)

Verybuffed the prices there are those given by the ACC and Tasmanian State Health department so are allowed to be posted. Whether they're accurate or not is debatable but not something that should be discussed here though. I hence wouldn't consider it to be much of an exploitable loophole in the system ;)
 
belarki said:
Thank you for pointing out the inconsistency regarding the ingredient in MS-Contin severedpsyche. You'd think a journalist could spend 10 seconds on google or wiki to check that :)
Click to expand...

It's convenient for the story to roll everything into one. A bit like blaming MDMA for all the world's ills.

I know it's obvious to people here but I couldn't leave that part of the story unchallenged.

This is another interesting bit:

The State Government will soon introduce Australia's first real-time drug reporting system to flag how and where the drug gets on the streets.

Doctors will be able to see exactly which drugs their patients have been prescribed by other practitioners, cutting down on doctor-shopping.
Click to expand...

Privacy issues come into play here, although a doctor could just plug the patient and drug names into the system to get only the relevant prescribing history.
 
WHo the fuck cares? let addicts be addicts and make the pharm companies rich/die of fatal overdoses...The news should be focusin on effective ways of Opioid Maintenance Therapy IMO.
 
haha got offered oxy's today.
60 deaths in Tasmania is higher then I expected in just two years though.

I wish it had some insight of how widely used it is there. Also I'd love to see how many of the 60 were combo'd with other stuff, as the article said can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

Education is the key... wish the message would get to the people =(
Party safe
 
thestudent14 said:
haha got offered oxy's today.
60 deaths in Tasmania is higher then I expected in just two years though.

I wish it had some insight of how widely used it is there. Also I'd love to see how many of the 60 were combo'd with other stuff, as the article said can be dangerous when mixed with alcohol or other drugs.

Education is the key... wish the message would get to the people =(
Party safe
Click to expand...

I'd imagine most, if not all, of them. It's pretty hard to OD on oxy by itself.
 
More of this crap, just great, what a waste of time and money to implement this shit. It will honestly make no difference, I bet most if not all of those people that unfortunately died were poly using and if they couldn't of gotten oxy would of used something else.

How many people died from driving, smoking, drinking or legitimate use of medications do you think? WAY more than 61 I would say but nobody gives a fuck about that.

In my view, these laws will do fuck all to limit availability of these drugs to those who want to get high, it will drive the price through the roof if anything and thas it.
 
^
D_M
Lets not forget that all the money thats gone into anti-smoking campaigns has had wonderous results. And yes, cigarettes still kill more people then drinking and every drug combined but I think if oxy's had the numbers that ciggs do you'd have some devastating amounts of deaths.

It may only make a small difference but if they can deal with it before it gets out of hand then I think it's very much in the realm of HR and therefore OK with me.
 
thestudent14 said:
It may only make a small difference but if they can deal with it before it gets out of hand then I think it's very much in the realm of HR and therefore OK with me.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree but I'd be interested to see how difficult it becomes for legitimate users to obtain before forming too strong an opinion.
 
^ That is my main problem, while opiates may be intoxicating they are also legitimate medications and whichever way you spin it when the Government tightens these restrictions it becomes harder for the person who needs them to get them. The thing is that the recreational drug user will always find an alternative whether its codeine CWE, oxycodone, MS CONTIN or heroin but the medicinal user is only going to get what the doctor prescribes so if you make the doctors scared to prescribe the good meds then it ultimately is the pain patients who suffer while the recreational drug users continue to get high, on slightly different drugs.
 
Tassie drug abuse shock
DAVID KILLICK | October 17, 2010 12.01am

TASMANIANS are abusing the prescription drug oxycodone at a rate nearly twice the national average and the figure is rising, says the latest report on drug trends.

And the stimulant mephedrone, also known as meow-meow, is being adopted by ecstasy users at the highest rate in Australia.

The Illicit Drug Report figures show that 61 per cent of injecting drug users had used oxycodone so far this year, up from 56 per cent last year.

Use of the drug is running at nearly twice the national average and has doubled in Tasmania since 2005.

The report found oxycodone and morphine were the most commonly injected illicit drugs in Tasmania last year.

The State Health Department is introducing a series of measures, including on-the-spot reporting of prescriptions for oxycodone, in a bid to reduce its illegal use.

The report also found heroin use was down to 8 per cent of the those surveyed, with its availability difficult, its purity variable and the price high in Tasmania compared with other states.

Methamphetamine use continued to be high with 70 per cent of drug users taking it this year, down from a peak of 95 per cent in 2005.

Those surveyed said the drug was generally easy to get hold of and cost around $300 a gram.

Just 5 per cent reported using cocaine.

The use of ecstasy and ice also fell significantly, with ecstasy being taken by 37% of drug users this year, down from 56 per cent in 2003.

General Practice South medical director Geoff Chapman said the continued abuse of oxycodone was an issue that GPs were aware of.

"We've been very concerned about it and have been actively educating GPs about it," he said.

The hope was that increased awareness of the problem would reduce the prevalence of the drug's abuse.
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The Mockery
 
damn

There is enough bans in this country, who cares legitmate users need them, it's not that bad really, Media spin, I've used opiates for 10years they help me Psych wise i love them. :!:!:!:!:!:!:!
 
Methamphetamine use continued to be high with 70 per cent of drug users taking it this year, down from a peak of 95 per cent in 2005
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There survey found that 95% of tasmanians were using methamphetamine. I call bullshit! Thats astonishing, thats 19 out of 20 surveyed. Surely it must've been selective surveying i.e picking people who have had some medical treatment in the past for drug use to do the survey.
 
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