Do Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers Actually Work?

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Abuse-deterrent opioid painkillers are intended to significantly help users stop drug misuse, even though they don’t guarantee complete abstinence. However, those with severe addictions may find ways to overcome abuse-deterrent painkillers to satisfy their cravings. These painkillers may contribute to addiction rather than curbing it.

Experts are split on whether abuse-deterrent drugs actually help users in their recovery. Many professionals believe that abuse-deterrent versions of popular painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin are a step in the right direction, but they question how well these alternatives work. For instance, many abuse-deterrent drugs are designed to make crushing, sniffing, and injecting painkillers difficult. But keep in mind they’re not aimed at reducing the rate of oral abuse.

Abuse Deterrent Drugs May Help Decrease Use of Narcotics

Studies have shown that abuse-deterrent drugs have led to decreases in the use of drugs like OxyContin, but a growing number of experts caution that abuse-deterrent options are just a hurdle for addicts to clear in their pursuit of getting back to their old lives and the high they crave.

In addition, critics have pointed out that many addicts simply move to other, easier to abuse drugs, such as heroin.

Names of some opioid painkillers that people often get addicted to include OxyContin, Vicodin, Percocet, hydrocodone, oxycodone and Demerol.

Why It’s So Easy to Get Addicted

Prescription painkillers are often quite strong and give the user a “high” feeling to alleviate the pain caused by severe injuries or intensive surgery. Many users grow accustomed to that euphoric feeling and seek to prolong or intensify the effect.

Users looking for that extra high employ alternative painkillers. They may crush and snort or smoke them or dissolve them into a liquid, so they can be injected directly. These methods increase the drugs’ potency and decrease the time it takes for them to take effect.

The FDA has approved several formulations that can be abuse-deterrent, including OxyContin and RoxyBond. In addition, naloxone and naltrexone are opioid antagonists; they block receptors in the brain to create a ceiling for how high a person can get while taking an opioid, which can help prevent overdose.

How Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers Work

Abuse-deterrent painkillers are more difficult to cut, crush, or dissolve.

The difference between abuse-deterrent painkillers and their traditional counterpart is that the abuse-deterrent versions are designed to be harder to crush, cut, or dissolve. Others transform into a gel when mixed with water. This makes it much harder to inject the substance than the original versions that readily dissolve.

Abuse-deterrent drugs are prescribed especially to heavy users or those in addiction recovery to prevent them from abusing painkillers that they need to manage their chronic pain, but are at risk of abusing once in their possession.

In addition to the physical deterrence, some painkillers feature chemical barriers, such as gelling agents, that can prevent users from extracting opioids who use water, alcohol or other solvents to prepare a liquid solution to inject into their veins.

These barriers can also change the effect the drug has when its intentional use is altered. It might become less effective or, when a drug contains an agonist, even causes an unpleasant experience. Such effects dramatically decrease the chance of abuse.

Tolerance

Opioid drug users also tend to build a tolerance to their drug of choice. Tolerance occurs when the person no longer responds to the drug as strongly as they initially did, thus requiring a higher dose to achieve the same effect. The results of tolerance stem from an opioid’s ability to desensitize the brain’s natural opioid system, making it less responsive over time.

Tolerance contributes to a high risk of overdose during an addict’s relapse. After an absence of exposure to the drug, the user’s tolerance drops and if they go back to using at the same dose, it has a stronger effect and increases the risk of overdose, hospitalization and even death.

Are Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers Just a Band-Aid?

Many health officials worry that these abuse-deterrent drugs are simply lulling the public into a false sense of security. They worry that pharmaceutical companies have only placed a bandage over the wound–one that won’t be effective because while these painkillers certainly present less risk of addiction, the pills themselves aren’t any less addictive.

Holding doctors and pharmacies accountable for prescribing and dispensing dangerous medication is important, but much more needs to be done. There are prescription drug monitoring programs in place in many states. Abuse-deterrent meds are available in the market, yet thousands still become addicted and die as a result of painkiller abuse.

Increasing access to treatment is a crucial step in the process. Many people become addicted to a variety of opioids, whether they’re prescribed by a doctor, such as OxyContin, Percocet or Vicodin, or bought off the street, like heroin. 

Many people battle to keep opioid users on the road to recovery, which depends on a combination of regulation, education, and increased access to treatment. The general consensus on abuse-deterrent drugs is that they offer a short-term fix, but they don’t address the overall situation.

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