Narconon Trois-Rivieres Cites ‘Hillbilly Heroin’ as Canadian Drug Addiction Crisis

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Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, July 23, 2009 — Canada has many vices, including coffee and donuts at Tim Horton’s and hockey, but OxyContin (http://narconon.ca/oxycontin.htm) has become a problem. Legally prescribed by doctors and different medical practices, this narcotic is also regularly bought on the street and by methods of doctor-to-doctor shopping. The primary and very dangerous ingredient in OxyContin is a pain medication called Oxycodone. This drug is typically used to handle most chronic illnesses and severe to mild pain relief. Oxycodone is found in many different pain medications, but it is also mixed with other chemicals. For example, Percocet has 5mg of Oxycodone in it combined with acetaminophen, which is the common drug found in Tylenol. In OxyContin there is only Oxycodone in it, in its purest form. OxyContin tablets can come in dosages of 10, 20, 40, and even 80 milligrams, making this drug’s addictive potential very dangerous.

“It is absolutely unbelievable to see people get themselves up to dosages that reach the hundreds and in some rare cases, the thousands of milligrams,” says Nick Hayes, a representative of the Narconon drug rehab program. “When individuals become dependent on amounts like this, it can become very life-threatening for the person; in most cases they will need a medically supervised detox to stop.”

OxyContin was not designed for the drug to take effect all at once, and this is why the time-release formula was developed. Typically providing 12-hour relief when taken as prescribed, word got around that when you chew, snort, or inject the drug, the release of Oxycodone is instant, giving intense euphoric effects. In 2003, there were close to three million prescriptions for OxyContin given out in Canada, with the majority of medication being prescribed in Ontario. Atlantic Canada faced its own problems with OxyContin abuse in 2004, seeing a massive spike in opiate abuse through the provinces. So serious was this situation that Newfoundland assigned a specific task force and actually filed a lawsuit against Perdue Pharma because of the problem.

If you or someone you know is battling a drug or alcohol addiction, call the Narconon toll-free line at 1-877-782-7409, or visit the website at http://narconon.ca/

(Ref: Gordon Gibb, “OxyContin Canada: Hillbilly Heroin in the Great White North,” Lawyers and Settlements.com, June 6, 2007: http://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/features/oxycontin-street.html)

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• Crime, Drugs and Health Problems Face Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside - July 14th, 2009
• International Cooperation to Save Drug-Addicted Kids - May 26th, 2009

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