Is Oxycontin The Most Addictive Drug?

The generic name for Oxycodone is Oxycontin.  It is an opioid alkaline that is derived from the Persian poppy.  The drug has been around for nearly 100 years and has been refined as a synthetic opioid that can be administered in pill form and liquids to patients that experience chronic pain.  Oxycontin is an addictive drug that is considered an analgesic, which means that the effect of ingesting additional doses increases the “high” without end.   To put another way, you do not peak on the drug as you take more of it.  That is one of the reasons it is considered as highly addictive as heroin.  To answer the original question, possibly yes it could be the most addictive drug.  It certainly falls within a group of the most addictive drugs and when you consider the ease of access, prevalence and fact that it is legal, there is a strong case for Oxycontin as the most addictive drug.

The drug works by binding itself to opioid receptors in the brain, spine and central nervous system (CNS).  After they have attached, the ability to feel pain is blocked and the brain reacts by releasing dopamine, which is a pleasure chemical that gives the user a feeling of euphoria.  This feeling can be heightened with more ingestion of the drug and the user’s body will quickly develop a tolerance that requires larger quantities to achieve the euphoric effect.  This is a typical trait of the most dangerous drugs on the market today, including alcohol, heroin and cocaine to name a few.

Oxycontin is a Schedule II controlled substance, but it is legal to possess it and fill prescriptions.  This designation makes the drug especially dangerous because it is not illegal to have it, unlike heroin or cocaine.  It is a marketed and regularly prescribed drug, which means it can be found in a myriad of places including: hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes and clinics.  Neither heroin nor cocaine has such a diverse range of outlets, or at least not with the volume that Oxycontin moves.  These medical offices are where some of the worst abuse begins as addicts will flock to them with fraudulent prescriptions and in some cases actual theft of the medication.  Medical patients that are in need of money also tend to sell any excess pills they have – sometimes full prescriptions – which further muddles the landscape for tracking the illegal use of Oxycontin.

The combination of these factors makes a pretty compelling case for Oxycontin as the most dangerous, if not addictive drug out there today.  To that point, the analgesic effect of the drug really opens the floodgates for addiction because users can become both physically and psychologically affected by the drug in a matter of weeks.  Users ingest larger amounts of Oxycontin to bolster their highs and in doing so begin to associate sobriety as being “sick”.  Essentially the body craves the drug and reacts negatively to a lack of it in the system.  At that point the user is probably fully addicted and should seek professional treatment as a “cold turkey” attempt at abstaining from the drug will prove to be extremely difficult.