Purdue Reformulated OxyContin to Reduce Abuse — Did They Succeed?
After years of analyzing the data, the results have returned…
Her story began innocently — a complaint of severe abdominal pain.
Having attempted multiple ways to obtain relief, she finally experienced a reduction in her discomfort from a miracle drug recommended by a friend.
Fourteen years later, this 44-year-old mother of three still relied on the medication. The pain she no longer felt, what remained was an intense craving for the drug. Many times she tried to quit, but each time her willpower failed.
She turned to alcohol.
Her health deteriorated.
Without the drug, she found herself unable to sleep, eat, or relax. She consumed increasingly larger quantities of the drug to achieve the same euphoric effect.
The miracle drug? Laudanum, an early form of opium.
The year? 1866.
The purpose of the above case study is to illustrate not only how long our society has grappled with opioid abuse, but also to highlight how little we have changed.
