According to an ABC news report, a police official stated that Michael Jackson used oxycontin daily for pain control - abuse and dependency on the narcotic drug spans thirty years. Oxycontin is sold on the street under various names that include hillbilly heroin, OC, oxy, Oxycotton, Kicker, and Blue. Michael Jackson was reportedly “heavily addicted” to oxycontin, bringing new focus to the problem of pain control and vulnerability to harm for chronic pain sufferers.
The DEA has been tracking illicit use of oxycontin for years. Stiff fines and even license revocation have been imposed on physicians who over prescribe narcotic pain medications. It becomes difficult for medical professionals to remain discerning when patients are in pain - chronic pain is real. The risk of respiratory depression, drug dependency, and drug abuse is also very real. As tolerance to narcotics increases higher doses are needed to control pain.
Oxycodone, the main ingredient in oxycontin, can potentiate other sedatives and barbiturates, such as Demerol. Michael Jackson reportedly received daily injections of Demerol – a set-up for harm and risk of respiratory depression and cardiac arrest.
Oxycontin is similar in effect to morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone, drugs commonly prescribed for pain relief. The danger of daily use of narcotic drugs involves dependency and the need for higher doses. Unfortunately, many people with chronic pain experience the difficulty associated with finding pain relief from drugs. The result is mixing medications, and even alcohol to improve quality of life.
Advances in pain control may help avoid tragedies associated with narcotic pain medications like oxycontin. One problem is that insurers fail to recognize the value of alternative therapies. It becomes easier to take a pill. Getting oxycontin on the streets until it is time for another prescription is all too easy. Oxycontin hit the market in 1996, and was immediately followed by high incidence of abuse.
No one knows if Michael Jackson died because of dependency on drugs. According to reports, he was addicted oxycontin, in itself a tragedy. Perhaps it is even a statement of some sort of failure associated with Western medicine.
It may take a superstar like Michael Jackson to raise awareness about the dangers of drugs such as oxycontin. The most common side effect of narcotics is respiratory depression. Too many deaths are attributable to drugs such as oxycontin annually. Perhaps a new focus from researchers could validate alternatives for treatment of pain that reduce risk of harm from narcotic drug dependency. Pharmaceutical remedies seem to dominate most research for obvious reasons.
