First Nations leader warns of OxyContin withdrawal crisis
Posted February 18, 2012 1:34 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
With the news that the company which manufactures OxyContin in Canada will stop production at the end of February, an Ontario First Nations leader said a catastrophe is looming.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Chief Stan Beardy said thousands of residents in Ontario reserves are badly addicted to the powerful painkiller.
The organization represents 49 First Nation communities in northern Ontario, and it made the estimate that nearly half its members were addicted to the drug.
The drug, when chewed, crushed, injected or inhaled provides a powerful euphoria.
The drug will be replaced by a new formula called OxyNEO, which is intended to make drug abuse more difficult.
The major problem, according to Chief Beardy, is that many of the addicts will go into withdrawal and suffer a prolonged illness.
The new format, OxyNEO, is designed so that those who have been using OxyContin according to prescription should be able to switch-over without problem.
For those who have been taking the drug illicitly, withdrawal is likely to occur.
The symptoms of withdrawal generally include nausea, vomiting, severe stomach pain, shakes and a feeling of weakness.
