oxycodone

Oxycodone oral medications are generally prescribed for the relief of moderate to severe pain. Currently it is formulated as single ingredient products or compounded products. Some common examples of compounding are oxycodone with acetaminophen/paracetamol or NSAIDs such as ibuprofen. The formulations are available as generics but are also made under various brand names. OxyContin is Purdue Pharma 's brand for time-release oral oxycodone. The manufacturing rights to time-released generic oxycodone are under dispute
 * Oxycodone** is an [|opioid] [|analgesic] medication synthesized from opium-derived [|thebaine] . It was developed in 1916 in Germany, as one of several new semi-synthetic opioids in an attempt to improve on the existing opioids: morphine, diacetylmorphine (heroin), and codeine.
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Health Warnings for Oxycodone Oxycodone has a high risk for abuse and severe, possibly fatal, breathing problems. The risk for harm is higher if you take the wrong dose/strength, or if you take it along with other drugs that might also affect breathing. Be sure you know how to take oxycodone and what other drugs you should avoid taking with it. Get immediate medical help if you notice unusual slow/shallow breathing. Keep this medicine in a safe place to prevent theft, misuse, or abuse. If a child accidentally swallows this drug, get emergency medical help right away.

Recreational use
The introduction of Oxycontin in 2000 resulted in increasing patterns of abuse. Unlike Percocet, whose potential for abuse is limited by the presence of acetominophen, Oxycontin contains only oxycodone and inert filler. Abusers crush the tablets to defeat the time-release mechanism, and have been reported to snort or inject the resulting powder to achieve rapid absorption into the bloodstream. Oxycodone has similar effects to [|morphine] and [|heroin], and appeals to the same abuse community. Armed robberies of pharmacies where the robber demanded only Oxycontin, not cash, have occurred. In some areas, particularly the eastern U.S., Oxycontin has been the drug of greatest concern to enforcement authorities. Like other opium derivatives, oxycodone is fatal at high doses or when combined with alcohol or other depressants. Several documented fatalities from Oxycontin abuse have been made public. On October 10, 2003, talk radio personality [|Rush Limbaugh] made a public admission of addiction to Oxycontin, and announced his intention to pursue inpatient [|treatment].

**History** Freund and Speyer of the [|University of Frankfurt] in Germany first synthesized oxycodone from thebaine in 1916, [|[6]] a few years after the German pharmaceutical company [|Bayer] had stopped the mass production of [|heroin] due to hazardous use, harmful use, and dependence. It was hoped that a [|thebaine] -derived drug would retain the analgesic effects of morphine and heroin with less dependence. To some extent this was achieved, as oxycodone does not have the same immediate effect as heroin or morphine nor does it last as long. The first clinical use of the drug was documented in 1917, the year after it was first developed. [|[6]] [|[31]] It was first introduced to the US market in May 1939. In early 1928, Merck introduced a combination product containing [|scopolamine], oxycodone, and [|ephedrine] under the German initials for the ingredients SEE, which was later renamed Scophedal (SCOpolamine ePHEDrine & eukodAL)—this combination is essentially an oxycodone analogue of the morphine-based Twilight Sleep with ephedrine added to reduce circulatory and respiratory effects. The [|International Narcotics Control Board] estimates that 11.5 tons (23,000 lbs) of oxycodone were manufactured worldwide in 1998; [|[34]] by 2007 this figure had grown to 75.2 tons (150,400 lbs). [|[34]] Of all countries, the United States had the highest total consumption of oxycodone in 2007 at 51.6 tons (103,200 lbs) or 82% of the world total. This translates into over half a billion 80 mg tablets per year. [|[34]] In addition, the U.S. had the highest per capita consumption of oxycodone, followed by Canada in 2006, 2007 and 2008. This makes the consumption of oxycodone in [|North America] (United States and Canada alone) higher than all other countries of the world combined. The [|United States] and [|Canada] are consistently ranked among the top two or three in most type of opioid consumption per capita (for example, in 2006 Canada ranked second and the U.S. ranked third in morphine consumption per capita; only [|Austria] ranked higher and that is due to the fact that in addition to being used to treat moderate to severe pain, morphine is also used to treat heroin or morphine dependence in Austria—a practice which is unheard of in North America)