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More Powerful Version Of Heavily Abused Opiate To Hit Market

December 28, 2011 by  

More Powerful Version Of Heavily Abused Opiate To Hit Market

Drug makers are in the process of developing a more powerful version of the second most highly abused drug in the Nation.

The new pharmaceutical will contain up to 10 times the amount of the highly addictive painkiller hydrocodone as existing medications such as Vicodin. Four companies have begun patient testing, and one of them — Zogenix — has plans to apply early next year to begin marketing the drug, Zohydro, according to The Associated Press.

Many addiction experts are worried that the release of new pills will spark another narcotic epidemic in the United States similar to that following the release of OxyContin, which became known as “hillbilly heroin.”  

“I have a big concern that this could be the next OxyContin,” said April Rovero, president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse. “We just don’t need this on the market.”

OxyContin was designed to deliver measured time-release doses, but addicts quickly learned that by crushing the tablets they could achieve an instant, powerful high. OxyContin is the most-abused medicine in the Nation, and hydrocodone is second, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s annual count of drug seizures sent to police drug labs for analysis.

Prescription drug makers earn a combined $10 billion a year legally pushing powerful opiate narcotics.

Filed Under: Alternative Medicine, Liberty News, Staff Reports, Traditional Medicine
Sam Rolley

Staff writer Sam Rolley began a career in journalism working for a small town newspaper while seeking a B.A. in English. After learning about many of the biases present in most modern newsrooms, Rolley became determined to find a position in journalism that would allow him to combat the unsavory image that the news industry has gained. He is dedicated to seeking the truth and exposing the lies disseminated by the mainstream media at the behest of their corporate masters, special interest groups and information gatekeepers.

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  • s c

    So, is the new drug something that’s needed for practical medical purposes, or is the new drug an easy way for CORPORATIONS to make easy money at our expense? It can be hard to tell if the DEA loves to stick its long nose into medicine too much or if there is a real need for such a new drug.
    I have a lot of sympathy for people who need strong painkillers. At the same time, maybe the DEA needs to be reminded that that if they DON’T have a license to practice medicine in America, then they need to shut up and stay the hell away from MDs and their patients. Don’t lawyers and courts have the legal clout to stop agencies like the DEA from being drug Nazis, folks?

    • john dilinger

      s c:
      Dont you get the big picture yet? Of all the information that they are no longer afraid to give us anymore, cant you see and hear their big plan? Or have you only been so busy reprimanding others of what they say that you have become ignorant and arrogant in the way you talk to people? I see in your statement of the dea as being nazi, well open your eyes and you will see much further how nazi-ism is or has taken hold in every aspect of government control. Remember SC that hitler rid his own country of its undesirables before heading out of town with a plan of genocide to rid the world of any one that objected his power.

      • s c

        j, my eyes were opened almost 40 years ago. Where were you then? What is manifesting is a combination of an American-style version of National Socialism and a perverse blend of ‘religion’ (no, I’m not talking about the ‘religion’ you’d probably assume. it’s more complicated than that).
        You need to realize that a lot of people on this website can’t appreciate what is socialism, communism, National Socialism or Fascism. And some of those people refuse to separate ‘Republicans’ from conservatives. It’s enough to make you go looking for bad habits, especially when people just DON’T get it. So, I do what I can, and the rest will have to fend for themselves.

  • Karolyn

    Many don’t realize how hard it is for some people to even get the medication they need for pain. Doctors are so afraid of the DEA that many won’t prescribe narcotics for their patients for fear of their licenses being taken away. I was a member of a back pain group for a while and many of those with legitimate pain could not get the help they truly needed. It seems the DEA goes to too much of an extreme. Down with the DEA anyway!

  • Annette R

    I personally have several physical problems, which force me to have to take pain medications. I have chronic pain, which I live with around the clock, and find that there is ‘little’ quality of life without the pain medications. Because of the multitude of physical ailments, I must take many medications. I began taking ‘pain medications’ routinely as early as 1992, but went off them for the most part for a 3 year period because of ‘more illness’. I am now registered with the DEA because of the medicines I have to take to have any quality of life.

    Miss April obviously does not have the slightest comprehension of what she is saying when she says we don’t need another drug like the one spoken of, to be on the market. My question is ‘why not’? Let me tell her WHY what she is fighting against is ‘so wrong’. And by the way, while I’m at it I would first like to say that NOBODY should be allowed to sit on ANY Drug Board ‘against’ medications that can possibly give someone better quality of life..UNLESS..THEY PERSONALLY can UNDERSTAND from ‘experience’ what it is like to live in constant pain! She should understand what it is like to be so worn out at day’s end that sleep will not come because pain has exhausted you beyond the limits of what you could stand! She should also understand what it is like to pray for God to ‘relieve’ some of the pain, or just please take me on out of here tonight!

    I have children and grandchildren I love to spend time with, but am not able to do so as much as I would like.

    For April’s (and others like her) benefit, I am going to list some of my own ailments and hopefully she will have the balls to respond in a sensible dialogue! I won’t go into detail on any of my ailments, but will list some of them.

    First off. I am 59 years old. I have been on both pain pills (Hydrocodone was the first one. Oxycontin was the second one. I don’t take either of those now. I take Oxycodone w/apap 10 mg-325. I don’t take ‘anything’ in order to get high. I have never liked that feeling whatsoever, always preferring to have my complete wits about me. Let me also state that none of these drugs were the first that were offered from the more than 25 doctors I have seen. The first ones offered were instead…Morphine, Fentanyl Patches, and the likes. I refused because I knew I would likely need something stronger as time went by, so I started with a little lesser evil.

    Illnesses: Fibromyalgia, CAD, COPD, Myocardial Infarction (at least 2 and likely 3), Syncope, Decreased Ejection Fraction, Blockage on front of heart, Chronic Gout (8 to 10 times per year!), Obstructive Sleep Apnea (CPAP machine), Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, Metabolic Syndrome, (I have now managed to lose 50 pounds which has been beneficial for that) Sleep Disorder, Congestive Heart Failure, Dyspnea, GERD, Depression, PTSD, Angina, Increased thickness anterior and posterior mitral heart valve, Diverticulosis, Hiatal Hernia in Cardia, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Neuropathy (arms, hands, feet, legs), Gastritis, Esophagitis, Duodenitis, Stomach Lesions, Cardiomyopathy, Restless Leg Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Arthritis, Chronic Insomnia, Degenerative Disk Disease.

    Well, I guess I really shouldn’t have listed quite as much as I did. Made it sound like I’m in pretty bad shape. LOL! That was the understatement of the year. I’m on about 25 medications right now all total. Of which…NONE of it would help me feel like living were it not for my ‘pain medication’. Trust me, IF YOU UNDERSTAND CHRONIC PAIN WHATSOEVER……..You would NEVER fight against a new drug on the market for people like me and many others who are in even worse condition!

    On top of everything else, I just got pretty much off my cane in the past 6 months. I had been on a cane since early 2007. Due to the Neuropathy I took several terrible falls in 2007, breaking my pelvis completely in half at least 4 times that year, cracked the femur in my left leg, broke my back in two places as well.

    I didn’t mean to write this much, BUT it is important for PEOPLE who sit on boards (National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse) to EXPERIENCE Chronic Pain or have some of their own family members EXPERIENCE Chronic Pain, BEFORE THEY ARE QUALIFIED to MAKE any sort of decision concerning WHAT WE WHO NEED PAIN MEDICATION should have made available to us or not. I would never WISH something like this on anyone else, yet it is extremely important for ALL THOSE sitting on boards such as this to be made AWARE in SOME MANNER of what it is like to face chronic pain on a daily basis! WHY fight US getting something that could make life tolerable and maybe even enjoyable! If you don’t want the druggies to have it………then THERE is where you should fight. Don’t fight against those who can truly benefit from something such as this! Please search your own souls and get out there and interview some people who are in chronic pain! See how they have to live!

    I certainly wouldn’t want anyone to receive pain medication such as Narcotics if they are not in pain! But it is a war we cannot win against. Those who want it illegally are going to get it no matter what anybody says or does. And yes, maybe there will be doctors who believe their patients might need it and prescribe it to someone who really doesn’t need it. Somehow I believe there is much more to be gained by ‘allowing’ people who need it to get it and continue the fight against those who don’t need it or get it illegally.

    • JUKEBOX

      I sympathize with the problems you have, but any doctor that has a patient on 25 prescriptions is guilty of patient abuse. There are also patients who are abusing the empathy of their doctors by claiming to have pains to “LEGALLY” get these prescriptions. I am not being insensitive, just honest.

    • http://liberty robert doster

      i agree ,they have no clue what we live with every day and every nite just tring to manage our pain and i hope she really never has to.I take percocet 10 and opana 20 and my tolerance has has increaced for an upgrade.Until you walk in my shoes don,t judge me?

    • http://www.orthobodyworks.com Joe

      You don’t need drugs to treat most musculoskeltal conditions ! YOu need good wholistic and preventative therapy like Massage and Bodywork. Also advanced orthopedic massage, Manual therapy, Rolfing, etc. etc. Any structural integration is good. Add Strengthening and stretching routines and exercise along with the massage therapy and you can be PAIN FREE !!! Preventative, Homoepathic, all natural treatments! No drugs or chemical with side effects. No surgeries. No thousands of dollars to make the doctors more money and still have the same pain conditions after the surgery !!!! Change your mind set and thinking America! We have been brainwashed by Allopathic medecine, Doctors and pharmacuetical LOBBY to take your money and have us be their cash cows! Stop the Insanity!

      Most of these chronic physical pain conditions listed (Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Arthritis, Chronic Insomnia, Degenerative Disk Disease.) can be treated without drugs or surgery. As far as the internal stuff, I wouldn’t doubt if most of those others were caused from being on too many medications!

      • Mary Ann Ludwig

        Gee Joe, I know you mean well, but you don’t know what you are talking about. There is no amount of stretching exercise or massage therapy that will improve degenerative disk disease or carpel tunnel syndrome. Right now, every time I turn from side to side I can hear my vertebrae scraping against one another. I mean that literally. I hear and feel the grinding. Years spent trying exercise, physical therapy, anti-inflammatory meds and other conservative methods favored by the DEA fearing physicians did absolutely zero to help with the pain I experience which becomes excruciating when I bend over a little. I can’t wash the dishes in the sink. I can’t make the bed. I can’t vacuum the floor or do any of a million small tasks of daily living without that excruciating pain. What I do need is relief. If I can get that from a new pain med, then bring it on! Since I can’t even get an appropriate medication now, I doubt that I’ll be getting the new one any time soon, but I will at least hope it may become available some day. By the way, my pain has been with me for around the last quarter of a century. Because of the attitude of the medical profession (i.e. the bean counters who run it), I can’t even get an MRI to check on the progression of the damage. Can’t wait for Obamacare…

      • LBJ

        Drink raw milk! It is great for joints and alleviating arthritis. Also there are mineral and herb supplements which help the body repair the joints.

    • john dilinger

      Annette R: I know what you mean about pain as I am a Service Connected Disabled Veteran of Military Service. Really, people out there dont want to hear anything about somebody in pain as I have experienced my back condition as a failed back syndrome for the past 20 years. I recieve my treatment from the Veterans Administration not only for severe pain in my back but also for being depressed from having this condition. The entity who I believed in to help me has been a total failure of the system as my case has witnessed. They are more than willing to had out psych medication, all you want or dont want, but very hesitant to give me medication for pain that I have begged so hard for in the last 20 years. The social workers in the V.A. only have one train of thought on there mind and that is psych and that is all thats to a persons problems, therefore, depression is the root of my pain. I see the V.A. as a monster cos they wont help me with my physical disablity but they would rather be intrusive into my life. As I had tried to increase my disability after 20 years the system did its very best to take away any and all benefits I had already fought so hard for 20 years ago. The V.A. told me that they had no record of me or my service in the military and dont know why I had even recieved compensation for the last 20 years. THEY WANTED TO TAKE AWAY?! That must mean that I must have had to pay them back every penny I recieved in the last twenty years if I let it go to that. However, the Veterans Service of my State pointed out to them a law that states that if I recieved a compensation for 13 years they could not take it away. Another surprise to them is that I had a majority of my military records plus medical records which had other Attorny’s and medical findings. THE MILITARY WAS FUN AT THAT TIME BUT IF I ONLY KNEW THE HARDSHIP I WOULD ENDURE FROM MY INJURY I WOULD CRAM ALL MY AWARDS AND RIBBONS WHERE THE SUN DONT SHINE ON THOSE WHO WILL SAY THAT I DESERVED MY CURSE.

  • bob wire

    Pain management is serious business guys. ~

    Nothing to joke about. There is people out there that are living in sheer hell, every second of their life.

  • bob wire

    Well, I hold no claim to knowing a lot or up to date on the drug scene.

    OxyContin a “hillbilly heroin” , I’ve not used and I been smart enough to stay away from heroin. I understand Rush Plumbob enjoys it for a while.

    But if it has the characteristics of heroin , you would have to put a gun to my head to make me to use it.

    hydrocodone, I’ve used , it works and does mute pain. I’ve never abused it, I’ve never experienced euphoria in using it.

    Sam speaks of a new “Opiate” concentrate, this is something entirely difference from these other two. Totally Difference animal. Something I’ve had some experience with. ~ If opium was much stronger it would just lay you down.

    He didn’t say what it would treat, pain is my guess, sever pain.

    It’s a sweet pleasant intense high and long lasting, 3 to 4 hours. You can feel detached from the body and be temporarily free without long term side effects. It would carry euphoria psychotic effects short term unless they have managed to engineer that out of it.

  • Bill B

    ALL drugs should be legal for adults. As should gambling and prostitution. It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence, as plain as the nose on your face:

    “LIBERTY”

    What part of “LIBERTY” don’t you understand?

  • El Gringo

    Rovero has evidently never experienced any pain requiring an opiate. Until she does let us hope she will have an epiphany.

  • Mac

    This is probably a reasonable move. I have taken Vicodin only two or three times in my life, and I never felt any pain relief from the normal dosage. Ibuprofen works better for me.

  • Roger

    I have been diagnosed with arthritis over 20 years ago. I take “Norcos” four times a day. They help a little but do not kill most of the pain. Without them I would not be able to walk without some kind of support. The drugs are ok as long as you don’t abuse them. If you’re looking to get high, buy some alcohol, it’s faster and cheaper. I’ve known (healthy) men who take Viagra, thinking they can have sex all day long. It’s not meant for that. Advertisers want to sell their products and mislead in their advertisements. Medication, taken as directed should pose little or no problems although there can be some problems with some people not being able to handle the side effects of some of these medications. All prescription drugs are poison but taken in proper doses are fairly safe.

  • Bob Marshall

    This is from a report by the US centers for Disease and Control.One hundred thousand Americans die annually from the effects of prescription medications. Over one million per year have adverse reactions. 150 million Americans suffer some form of mental illness during their lifetimes.The use of antidepressant drugs has soared since 1988 by 400%. The make sthis the most frequently used drugs by age groups 18-44.

    • JUKEBOX

      They will probably distribute this stuff for “FREE”, and in that way they can help more people self medicate themselves into their graves, and eventually enough people will die to cut the amount of Social Security and Medicaire the government has to pay out. This will be their covert way of rescuing SS.

      • s c

        Jukebox, even if Uncle Scam was that murderous, free pain pills wouldn’t be that efficient. About a year ago, a new pain killer was almost ready to be introduced into the market. It was supposedly 1,000 times more powerful than morphine. A drug that powerful would be much more efficient in producing self-induced ‘termination’ (accidental or otherwise).

  • eddie47d

    Oh boy! More powerful drugs to choose from. Our nation is addicted to oil and needs more and more to satisfy our thirst so why not a higher potency in drugs. Now Big Pharma can really control us (again)just like Big Oil has done. My doctor gave me Vicodin when I broke my wrist and a Vertebrae and it made me feel worse so I stopped after taking two pills. I can’t fathom higher doses being good for a persons health.

    • s c

      ‘e,’ e, e – you did it again. How is it possible that someone who understands a language (kind of, sort of, you know) would try to jam together two unrelated and separate ideas?
      I guess it helps if no one notices or if the culprit is deemed tolerable (temporarily). At any rate, here’s brand new, tin-plated star for the day, e. I was hoping that we’d be ‘blessed’ with
      HOW a nation’s ‘thirst’ for OIL and a possible need for a PAINKILLER for individuals are related, but you didn’t do that.
      So, what did you almost learn in school today? You DID go to school today, didn’t you?

    • eddie47d

      SSS CCC It’s called comparison shopping! We have been at times screwed by Big Oil and many times by Big Pharma.How many times do you get taken by those who are taking you for a ride before you wake up?Now if you put two and two together maybe someday you’ll be able to figure it out. Did you say you had a brilliant all knowing mind or did you just burp? I could compare you the Barnum and Bailey but we’ll leave that for another day.

      • s c

        edwardette, what government agency makes it possible for Big Pharma to rape or screw us? Have you ever heard of the FDA?
        Are you any smarter than the last time you tried to pose as a smart ass? Somehow, I doubt it.

  • Tony

    True, it WILL have more addicting features but don’t ALL narcotics? Occasionally I have to take something with narcotics involved to ease the pain from years of work abuse in early life. I am just wondering if the pain became so severe tha current meds won;t do the trick will I have this for an opton?

  • Isaac Davis

    With the coming effluent storm, being incoherent might be a fine ride into the abyss. You’ll still hit the wall with the rest of us, but you probably won’t feel the splatter.

  • CP

    Again something to help those who are in serious physical pain is being run down because it is possible to abuse the substance. No one is denying the effectiveness of the drug in controlling pain for those in need, but the claim is made that because we have medication that will somewhat help, we don’t NEED something that will do a better job with less risk. IF we had followed this train of thought way back when, we still wouldn’t have aspirin, let alone any of the more powerful pain medications.

  • G.W. Buck

    “We do not need this on the Market…” I am so glad she does not live in constant pain. I hope people like her get a chance to experience real, chronic pain… and do not get the relief from medication that this drug could provide.

  • Terry Marcum

    Where can I get some!!!

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