Ben Preiss
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According to the DEA, the amount of painkillers sold at retailers from 1997 and 2005 rose 90%. We’re not talking about Tylenol here; this is Vicodin and morphine strength substance abuse. Leading the pack was OxyContin, also known as “hillbilly heroin” for its popularity in Appalachia, which enjoyed a nearly six-fold increase between 1997 and 2005.  More than 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and meperidine were purchased at retail stores during the most recent year represented in the data. That total is enough to give more than 300 milligrams of painkillers to every person in the country.
Oxycodone, the chemical used in OxyContin, is responsible for most of the increase. The world of pain extends beyond big cities and involves more than oxycodone.
In Appalachia, retail sales of hydrocodone sold mostly as Vicodin are the highest in the nation. Nine of the 10 areas with the highest per-capita sales are in mostly rural parts of West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee
(news.yahoo)References: timesnews.net, news.yahoo Filed In: |
