From pain management to street drug, Oxycontin has left both patients and addicts wanting more.
Linda, who asked that her last name not be published, has seen the drug damage her family, and said for those who rely on the narcotic, going cold turkey isn't an option.
"My nephew was hurt at work and put on Oxycontins and became addicted to them and ended up having to use the methadone clinic," she said. "It was very embarrassing for him."
Linda said watching her nephew and 78-year-old mother enter a life of addiction weighed heavily on their family.
"I told her (mother) she wasn't going to be getting her little white pills and she freaked," Linda said. "When her pills are getting low she calls the pharmacist and she wants her pills now because she's so used to getting them three months in advance."
In an attempt to prevent addicts from abusing the drug, Ontario doctors are now prohibited from prescribing the opiate-based narcotic and manufacturer Purdue Pharma stopped producing the drug as of March 3.
Sometimes called hillbilly heroin, Oxycontin can be bought on the street for $50 to $60 a pill and has become a drug of choice to liquify and inject.
For most people it was never their intent to become addicted, Armstrong said.
"We need to be open to understanding that this is a much bigger issue and to have compassion and understanding," she said. "We need to understand that it's so much broader than the people on the street."
Being prescribed Oxycontin for pain management wasn't uncommon 10 years ago, but Armstrong said many people didn't realize they would later struggle with addiction.
"There are a number of people that unfortunately became addicted to Oxycontin," she said. "All of a sudden they are addicted to this and it's a much bigger and more complex story than that."
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