Oxycodone take-back program combats US hillbilly heroin crime wave
8 October 2010
US authorities have introduced a national program to recover old prescription medicines in an attempt to reduce drug-related crime, the New York Times reported (2010 Sep 23, online).
The US Drug Enforcement Administration launched the prescription “drug take-back” program after a wave of home invasions, assaults and thefts in which drug addicts targeted sick or elderly people to raid their medicine cabinets.
Police called on citizens to surrender old bottles of lethal painkillers – including oxycodone (e.g. Endone, OxyContin), nicknamed ‘hillbilly heroin’ – at 4000 drop-off locations across the country.
The take-back day was held as data suggested the country’s prescription drug problem is vast and growing. The number of people seeking treatment for addiction to painkillers in the US jumped 400% between 1998 and 2008.
In 17 states, deaths from drugs – both prescription and illegal – exceed those from motor vehicle accidents, with opiate painkillers playing a leading role.
And from around the country, law enforcement officials are combating a rise in crime tied to prescription drugs. “We're seeing people desperately and aggressively trying to get their hands on these pills", the attorney general in Maine said.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of states are considering passing legislation requiring drug manufacturers to help coordinate the collection and disposal of leftover prescription drugs.
Last Reviewed: 08 October 2010
- 1. Goodnough A. A wave of addiction and crime, with the medicine cabinet to blame. New York Times September 23, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/24/us/24drugs.html?scp=6&sq=oxycontin&st=cse (accessed 13 Oct 2010).
