According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 80 percent of heroin users reported using prescription opioids, most often containing Oxycodone, before becoming addicted to the street drug heroin.
Oxycodone is a prescription pain medication. It is a strong opioid drug, like morphine, heroin, fentanyl, or methadone, in terms of potency. And like all opioid drugs legally prescribed or illegally manufactured, it causes addiction. Oxycodone is the main ingredient in these popular prescription-only pain medications:
- Percocet
- Percodan
- Roxicodone
- Roxicet
- OxyContin
Where Does Oxycodone Come From?
Oxycodone is an opioid derived from the poppy plant. It is a semi-synthetic opioid, which means it is created in a lab by scientists as a medication. In most prescriptions for any drug that contains Oxycodone, doctors will limit the amount and now place strict monitoring on the patients who receive it. In the past, doctors were misinformed of how addictive pain pills were and overprescribed them.
Since we now know that prescription painkiller addiction often leads to heroin or fentanyl addiction getting a prescription is not as easy as before. Therefore, the street value of doctor-prescribed medication with Oxycodone in them is sought after, and people will pay upwards of 80.00 a pill if it is the strongest milligram.
How is Illegal Oxycodone Sold?
The illegal manufacturing of prescription opioids often occurs in laboratories in Mexico and China and most often uses Fentanyl or Heroin to masquerade as Oxycodone or its most famous product Oxycontin. Today dealers sell fake Oxycontin or Percocet that look like genuine pharmaceutical pills, but it isn’t.
Still, there are sources of Oxycodone that come from the pharmacy and are sold to people willing to pay the high price for them. It is uncommon for people to falsify pain to get a prescription so they can make a considerable profit. Known as “pill circles,” many addicts share prescriptions with others, with pills keeping each other in profit or feeding their habit.
What Names Does Oxycodone Go By?
The street names or slang for Oxycodone sometimes depend on the region. For example, Heroin, on the East Coast, is referred to as China White, or just white, and on the West Coast, it is referred to as Black tar or black. The slang names for Oxycodone include:
- Roxi ( short for roxicet)
- Oxy ( short for oxycontin)
- Blues ( color of 40 mg oxycontin pills)
- Perc’s ( Percodan or Percocet)
- 512’s (pill number for Percodan)
- Browns ( color of 80mg oxycontin)
- Cotton
- Cody’s
Signs and Symptoms of Oxycodone Addiction
Since Oxycodone is a prescription medication, many people who abuse it originally obtained it from their doctors. Still, people who have an addiction to opioid pain pills will fabricate how bad their pain is to convince a doctor to prescribe them more. One common sign of an addiction to Oxycodone is doctor shopping. This is when a person sees more than one doctor for a prescription.
Other signs and symptoms of addiction to Oxycodone include being overly preoccupied with running out and buying it from friends or dealers. Oxycodone causes physical dependence, and anyone addicted to it will experience withdrawal symptoms.
What Is Oxycodone Withdrawal?
The withdrawal symptoms a person experiences when their body no longer has Oxycodone in it means they are in detox. The National Institutes of Health lists the withdrawal symptoms from opioids like Oxycodone.
Opioids are drugs such as heroin, opium, morphine, codeine, Oxycodone, and methadone. Opioid withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable and difficult for the patient. It can feel like a very bad flu. The onset of opioid withdrawal symptoms ranges from 8 to 24 hours and last approximately 10-20 days. Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, anxiety, insomnia, hot and cold flushes, perspiration, muscle cramps, watery discharge from eyes and nose, and diarrhea. (NIH)
Get Help for Opioid Addiction
Medically managed detox programs are the only way to help someone experiencing Oxycodone withdrawal symptoms. Medically supervised detox programs provide safe and effective medications to minimize and reverse Oxycodone withdrawal symptoms.
People who have legitimately been prescribed opioids for medical conditions and are not abusing them may also be able to participate in other programs that offer taper regimens. Call now to get professional help from addiction specialists around the clock.
Medically Reviewed: November 15, 2022
All of the information on this page has been reviewed and verified by a certified addiction professional.