How is OxyContin abused?

Street users of the drug are attracted to its euphoric high, which is reported to be similar to that of heroin. OxyContin tablets are manufactured with a special time-release mechanism meant to release Oxycodone over a 12-hour period of time. If the tablets are crushed, the time-release mechanism is broken and the entire dose of Oxycodone is readily released.

Abusers tend to use OxyContin in one of three ways:

  • chewing the tablets
  • crushing, then snorting the powder
  • crushing, then dissolving the powder in water for intravenous injection

With so little control over dosages, hundreds of people have died from overdose.

Why is OxyContin being abused?

Authorities say that many street users of OxyContin are young and unaware of how potent the OxyContin tablets can be. While Percodan and similar opioid painkillers have been available - both legally and on the black market - for decades, the problem with OxyContin is that each tablet contains higher amounts of narcotic than other painkillers, because of the extended action of the medication. For example, while a Percocet tablet typically contains a maximum of 10 mg of oxycodone, a single OxyContin tablet will often contain over 100 mg of oxycodone. This increased potency, authorities say, is the reason for the upswing in the street popularity of OxyContin.

How do abusers obtain OxyContin?

The methods by which abusers and those selling it to them obtain OxyContin are myriad. They include:

  • visiting doctors and lying about symptoms to get prescriptions
  • forging prescriptions
  • burglaries of pharmacies
  • improper prescribing practices by unscrupulous physicians
  • health care professionals who "divert" medication for their own use or for sale


Graph Source: Center for Substance Abuse Research, "U.S. Emergency Department Visits Involving Narcotic Analgesics Have Doubled in Five Years," CESAR FAX, April 7, 2003.

OxyContin is a registered trademark of Purdue Pharma, LP.

<< Go back to OXY FAQ page 1 >>