1996: The Start of Appalachia’s OxyContin Addiction

The opioid epidemic is a serious problem that is devastating the United States. No region in the country has been hit harder by this issue than that of Appalachia. How has this situation gotten to be so serious in Appalachia? If we look into how opioids, specifically OxyContin, effect Appalachia as a whole we can answer that question.

Starting in 1996, Purdue Pharma introduced OxyContin to Appalachia for the first time. The drug was heavily marketed and promoted very frequently. It was supposed to be used as a tool for helping the miners deal with chronic pain that resulted from the strenuous labor that mining demands. A big factor in the choice to market and promote OxyContin so aggressively was the fact that it was deemed non-addictive at first. Purdue Pharma claimed that the possibility of addiction was “less than one percent”. Due to this false claim and false advertising, doctors began to prescribe the drug the frequently to those who needed it. As time went on, doctors became more lenient to those they prescribed OxyContin to. Patients who did not need a painkiller of that degree were getting prescribed OxyContin. Eventually, the truth came out that OxyContin was highly addictive despite the original claim that it was nearly impossible to get addicted to it. Even though doctors found out that the drug was highly addictive, they continued to overprescribe the drug to those who did not really need it.

As you can see in this image, the Appalachian region has the highest opioid prescription rate in the United States

The mistake of Purdue Pharma claiming the drug was non-addictive, and the abuse of doctors overprescribing OxyContin led to a major problem in Appalachia. The drug was now highly available within the public, and those who were first prescribed to the drug were now addicted to it. This led to OxyContin becoming the most abused drug in the United States by 2004. Southwest Virginia has seen some of the most dramatic increases in deaths related to opioid prescriptions. The death rate has increased 830% here, where 23 people died from opioid prescriptions in 1997 to 215 in 2003. Drug abusers are using OxyContin in many ways that it was not originally intended for. For maximum effectiveness, people of addiction are now crushing the tablets and snorting them as well as injecting the drug. This is what is propelling the opioid-related death rate to skyrocket.

Due to the high availability of drugs in the Appalachian region, this image shows that it is resulting in some of the most frequent opioid-related overdose death rates in the nation as well.

In addition to the increase in overdose deaths, opioids have also started a much more complex issue. The issue of drug abuse is causing a system in Appalachia that is making it seem like this is the new norm. Children are growing up seeing this going on around them at an all-time high, and thinking that this is a normal habit. In addition, with how prevalent drugs are in the region, it is leading to increased amount of individuals being arrested for drug possession. With a felony on your record, it makes it exponentially harder to obtain a job in Appalachia especially since work is already difficult to find. This is why the unemployment rate in Appalachia is one of the highest in the United States. This issue has serious consequences for family and communal structures, as well as increases the amount of poverty in the region.

This map shows that besides the west coast, Appalachia has a high unemployment problem.

In conclusion, the rise of OxyContin in 1996 is one of the worst things to ever happen to the Appalachian region. The problem of drug abuse, drug prevalence, unemployment, and poverty can all be traced back to the day when OxyContin emerged in Appalachia. New legislation and community efforts must be implemented if this issue is ever going to be solved.

Sources:

“Appalachian Opiate Epidemic .” Appalachian Opiate Epidemic, Heron.net, heroin.net/think/appalachian-opiate-epidemic/.

Becker, James B. “ e Crisis of Opiates in Appalachia.” Marshall Journal of Medicine , 2016, mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1033&context=mjm.

Kelsey, Tamara. “Appalachia: The Cradle of the Opioid Epidemic.” Black Bear Lodge, 19 Feb.2018, blackbearrehab.com/blog/appalachia-cradle-opioid-epidemic/.

Luthra, Shefali, and Kaiser Health News. “Massive Price Hike for Lifesaving Opioid Overdose Antidote.” Scientific American, 2 Feb. 2017, www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-price-hike-for-lifesaving-opioid-overdose-antidote1/.

Zee, Art Van. “The Promotion and Marketing of OxyContin: Commercial Triumph, Public Health Tragedy.” American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, Feb. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622774/.