Oxycodone is a powerful opioid painkiller that serves as the sole or main active ingredient in widely used medications such as OxyContin, Percocet and Percodan. With or without a prescription, significant numbers of people abuse these medications in search of an oxycodone high. Unfortunately, this practice can lead to a range of serious side effects. …
On Saturday, NFL legend Brett Favre will take his rightful place in the esteemed Pro Football Hall of Fame. But 20 years ago, an addiction to painkillers threatened to cut his storied career, even his life, short. Just recently, he opened up about his addiction to Vicodin. In an interview with Graham Bensinger, the former …
Brett Favre Opens Up About Painkiller Addiction on Eve of Hall of Fame Ceremony Read More »
When someone you care about is addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin, it can feel like you’ve already lost them. Sadly, drug overdose deaths are more common than ever, taking the No. 1 spot in leading causes of accidental death in the U.S., surpassing even car crashes. As you watch your loved one spiral out …
Naloxone: Why There’s No Excuse Not to Save Someone From Opioid Overdose Read More »
Adderall is now finding its way into the hands of non-ADHD-suffering workers, who are using the ADHD drug as a “productivity-enhancer” to help them get ahead in their careers. The drug was previously known to be abused as a “study drug” by college students, but it only takes so long for those students to graduate …
Adderall Graduates From Study Drug to Workplace Drug Read More »
Young adult Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 are far more likely to abuse a prescription medication than older adults or younger teenagers. In addition to drug addiction, consequences of this abuse include non-fatal and fatal drug overdoses. In a study in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, four U.S. institutions sought to …
Researchers Identify Young People Most Likely to Abuse Prescription Drugs Read More »
In the U.S., several classes of mind-altering prescription medications are abused by a small but significant portion of the total population. Examples of the most commonly abused medications include opioid painkillers, stimulants and sedative-hypnotics (also known as tranquilizers). In a study scheduled for publication in 2014 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers from …
Which Prescription Medications Do College Students Abuse? Read More »
Gabapentin is a prescription drug that is used to treat seizures, epilepsy and pain. A brand name for gabapentin is Neurontin. Gabapentin abuse is not uncommon because of the relaxed sensation and the pain relief that the drug imparts. Gabapentin is not as addictive as many other prescriptions or illicit drugs, but you can get hooked …
What Is Gabapentin and What Are the Risks of Abuse? Read More »
The new abuse-deterrent formulation of OxyContin isn’t preventing abuse in many addicts, a new study has found. In 2013, there were over 16,000 overdose deaths related to prescription painkillers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the opioid abuse epidemic is still a big problem throughout the U.S. The abuse-deterrent formulation …
Addicts Still Getting High Using Abuse-Deterrent OxyContin Read More »
Naloxone, known as the overdose antidote, is a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose and is now available in California without a prescription. The hope is that the expanded access to the drug will save more lives in the state. Thousands of opioid drug abusers and addicts die every year in …
Overdose Antidote Naloxone Now Available in California Without a Prescription Read More »
The FDA has announced that the opioid drug Embeda will now have an acknowledgement of its abuse-deterrent properties on its label. According to the new label, Embeda has properties expected to reduce abuse of the drug when it’s crushed, but the protection against abuse is far from perfect. Finding out more about the drug, the …
Abuse-Deterrent Labeling for Opioid Drug Embeda Gets FDA Nod Read More »