Oxycodone

Oxycodone  Jamie Kring

== =

= Oxycodone is also know as Oxycontin, oxy, OC and O on the street. Oxycodone is a synthetic analgesic drug which is similar to morphine in its effects. Oxycodone is a prescription painkiller that is often prescribed for moderate to severe pain. This drug is a narcotic, which causes people to become both physically and psychologically addicted to it after taking it as prescribed. Some side effects of taking oxycodone include:


 * Nausea
 * Vomiting
 * Headaches
 * Constipation
 * Anxiety
 * Depression
 * Suicidal thoughts
 * Dizziness
 * Light-headedness
 * High level of tolerance
 * Physical dependence
 * Respiratory problems
 * Heart attacks
 * Strokes
 * Death

Oxycodone can be used in all ways of digestion such as through the mouth, nose, inhaled, and injected. It can be taken orally if you remove the coating, crushed up and snorted through the nose, smoked like heroin, and dissolved in water and injected. On the streets oxycodone would go for $20-$50 for a 40mg pill or $35-$100 for a 80mg pill, for a regular drug user this would result in about 3 or 4 pills a day. Therefore, a oxycodone user could spend up to $300 a day to keep the high. Before oxycodone was abused, it was used to relieve pain from injuries, arthritis, cancer, and other conditions. Oxycodone is a morphine-like drug and is found with other prescription drugs, such as Percodan (oxycodone and aspirin) and Percocet (oxycodone and acetaminophen). This drug provides a 12 hour relief from chronic pain. If you don't have any pain, oxycodone causes a relieve from 'psychological' pain and causes a euphoria feeling. Oxycodone is a very addictive drug because it I made from the opiate poppy.


 * Social Service Workers Involved With Oxycodone Use:**

Social service workers are involved with oxycodone abuse because they help support the users when they are trying to get clean. The most commonly used treatments for drug abuse include different forms of counselling such as psychotherapy and opiate substitution therapies. This type of treatment can be used in individual or family counselling. The practice can focus on why a client wants to change, strategies for staying sober, or helping the client develop skills that will help to resist the use of drugs. Prescriptions for naltrexone, buprenorphine, or methadone help opiate addicts get off harder drugs while maintaining chemical balance in the brain. These drugs are less harmful and easier to stop using compared to oxycodone because they have less severe withdrawal symptoms as the opiates. As a social service worker you could help oxycodone addicts by counselling them for various reasons, help them get resources such as food from the food bank or soup kitchen. Finally, if your a social service worker you could work at a needle exchange facility which would help the drug addicts that inject oxycodone. This would give them clean needles to use and decrease their chances of getting HIV/AIDS or hepatitis. Social service workers are here to help addicts go down the right path, or the path they want to go down. In order to help oxycodone addicts they need to want to change and become sober.

Social service workers can play a key role in drug use prevention and awareness. Social service workers can try and prevent drug use by educating young children about the effects of using and abusing drugs and alcohol. Alcohol, tobacco and marijuana are the three leading gateway drugs to cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. If social service workers keep kids away from the gateway drugs that will decrease the amount of people trying more illicit drugs. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are the gateway drugs, because they aren’t has hardcore as the other drugs. Also these drugs are cheaper and easily accessible for young people to get. Most young people steal alcohol and cigarettes from their family which leads to curiosity of other drugs. Social service workers should educate young people on illicit drugs such as oxycodone and focus on the harmful effects of the drug and how it is better to stay clean. If they learn that staying clean will help them have a healthy, good self-esteem and drug free life they will be happier. Finally, social service workers should teach adolescents how to say no to peer pressure. The best way to get through to children and young adults is to show them education videos at schools. This will help them understand that these drugs are illegal and they will do severe damage to the mind and body.








 * References:**

WebMD. (2005-2013). Retrieved November 27, 2013, from, []

Addiction Blog. (2013). Retrieved November 27, 2013, from, []

The Effects of Oxycodone Use.(2013). Retrieved November 27, 2013, from, []

Urban Dictionary; Oxycontin.(1999-2013). Retrieved November 27, 2013, from, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=oxycontin