Painkiller Opana, new scourge of rural America
POTENT, DEADLY
Law enforcement officials are alarmed by the rise of Opana abuse, which they said started after Oxycontin was changed in late 2010 to make that drug more difficult to snort or inject for a heroin-like high. Oxycontin is a brand of oxycodone.
Opana abuse can be deadly because it is more potent, per milligram, than Oxycontin, and users who are not familiar with how strong it is may be vulnerable to overdosing.
Opana, known by such street names as “stop signs,” “the O bomb,” and “new blues,” is crushed and either snorted or injected. Crushing defeats the pill’s “extended release” design, releasing the drug all at once.
“This Opana pill has really kicked us in the rear,” said Indiana State Police Sergeant Jerry Goodin. “We’ve never seen an addiction like this.”
Like other effective centrally-acting analgesics, some of the additional effects of oxymorphone can include euphoria, anxiolysis, promotion of sociability, and other similar effects that can cause psychological addiction to the drug. Also, like all other opiates, oxymorphone is physically addictive and can cause opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Opana does have euphoric effects, and they are short-lived. This is one of the crucial elements of a drug that can generate a serious narcotic habit rather quickly in those who take it for recreation and require more doses to maintain a stable level of euphoria. These effects however, barring enhancement with alcohol or other substances or means of administration other than oral, are less pronounced than that of morphine, fentanyl or dilaudid however, as mentioned previously, when taken intranasally the euphoric effects are far more pronounced.
The significant antidepressant and empathogenic properties of oxymorphone and other dihydromorphinone class semi-synthetic opioids is currently of interest to both the underground and the medical establishment, the latter of whom are “re-discovering” the anti-depressant effect and its relatively low ratio of toxic effects and lack of association with patient suicide attempts (see the oxycodone discussion for further information and footnotes) and Opana ER has been proposed as an alternative to methadone and other extended-release and/or long lasting drugs like Morphine, extended-release dihydrocodeine, buprenorphine, and 24-hour hydromorphone tablets for opioid detoxification and maintenance.
Oxycontin’s new pills make it harder to crush them into a powder as they instead become gummy and cannot be readily snorted or injected. This drove abusers to switch to Opana or to generic, immediate-release forms of oxycodone, according to John Burke, president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. Drug abuse experts have also found an increase in heroin use.
Endo Pharmaceuticals, which produces Opana, announced in December that it would reformulate Opana. The new pill is being manufactured now.
The new formulation makes it difficult to crush and it turns viscous or “gooey” if an abuser tries to add liquid to it, said company spokesman Kevin Wiggins. When used properly, Opana is indicated for chronic low back and osteoarthritis pain, and cancer pain.
But the old form of Opana is still available, and pharmacy and home robberies are on the rise as addicts search for a way to get their fix, according to police.
“We’re pretty much consumed by it,” Shane McHenry, a detective with the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department in southern Indiana, said of Opana. He said users who cannot afford Opana sometimes travel to Cincinnati to get heroin, which is cheaper in smaller amounts.
Fort Wayne, Indiana reported about 11 pharmacy robberies related to Opana since Endo announced the reformulation, according to Fort Wayne police spokeswoman Raquel Foster. The thief would hand the pharmacist a note, as in a bank robbery, threatening harm if Opana was not delivered.