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DEWS Investigates: OxyContin Abuse in Maryland

NCJ Number
212764
Date Published
June 2004
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This small interview study examined the characteristics of OxyContin abuse in Maryland.
Abstract
There have been reports made to the Maryland Drug Early Warning System (DEWS) about the abuse of OxyContin in about one third of Maryland jurisdictions since 1999. However, little can be learned about OxyContin abuse trends from the traditional substance abuse indicators because they tend to count OxyContin simply as a pain reliever along with other drugs such as Percocet. In order to understand the characteristics of OxyContin abuse in Maryland, the DEWS conducted interviews with five individuals with a history of OxyContin abuse who were recruited from private treatment programs. Interviews focused on how they obtained OxyContin and their drug use histories. Results indicate that OxyContin is being used in Maryland and is generally obtained from physicians, friends, and drug dealers. The study participants had extensive drug abuse histories that included heroin abuse. The researchers described difficulty accessing this population of drug abusers and recommend general population surveys of OxyContin abuse to gain more information. Figures, table, footnotes