How painkillers build a world of pain.
Painkillers are among the most used drugs in America. In the decade that New York Times reporter Barry Meier has studied their use and abuse and reports seeing, the number of people who have died of overdoses quadruples — "an increase Meier calls "staggering."
"Current statistics speak of about 16,000 people a year who die from prescription drug overdoses. It's a huge problem. The number of people who die from these drugs is second only to the number of people who die in road accidents." ", has told Terry Gross by Fresh Air.
Meier's new e-book, published by The New York Times Co., explores the world of opioid painkillers and the consequences of their continued use. It focuses specifically on OxyContin – and how it came to be prescribed for chronic pain, what the consequences were, and how it became a street narcotic.
Meier explains how, in its initial form, OxyContin wasdesigned as a version of timed release of theoxycodone – this meant pain relief for many hours without a break. It became a street narcotic when people got their way around the time-release of the active ingredient.
“All they had to do was crush, grind and chew,” says Meier, “and basically all the pain-relieving load that was contained in the drug was released immediately, which is why the
