6. Opioid painkillers
Street names: Oxy 80s, Oxycet, Hillbilly, Perks, Hydros, Pinks
Painkillers abuse has gained epidemic proportions. In Global Drug Survey 8.7 respondents reported using painkillers, while in the USA 11 million people used these drugs in 2013. In addition, 46 people die every day from painkillers overdose in the USA. In last twenty years the number of prescribed painkillers has doubled in the USA, which explains why more and more people are abusing these drugs. One of the most popular painkillers is OxyContin. The owner of the company which produces OxyContine, Sackler family, has taken the 16th place on Forbs list of America’s Richest Families. OxyContin works in a similar way as opiates – heroine, opium, morphine – it binds to opiate receptors, thus causing euphoria and interfering with the perception of pain.
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