WINNIPEG -- A few years ago people were worried crystal meth would invade Manitoba the way it did some U.S. states, which became ridden with addicts, fatal overdoses and clandestine labs.
It didn’t happen to that extent, thankfully.
But a different drug has creeped in without the hoopla and warnings, and is quickly becoming an abused drug of choice, especially for middle-class Manitobans.
The oxycodone boom is here.
Law enforcement and support workers say the continuous busts by police and rising number of addicts seeking treatment or overdosing on the highly-addictive prescription painkillers are proof, and they’re worried things will get worse if more isn’t done to educate people about the risks and signs.
Support workers and agencies are calling for wider public education because the problem is largely in the shadows.
“We cautioned the government that its abuse might (increase) because it was moving east to west (in Canada),” said John Borody, CEO of Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. “In some ways it was surprising that it picked up so quickly.”
So quick that treatment programs are being overrun with OxyContin addicts in particular.
Three years ago few people turned to AFM with one. Today, Borody said, 80% of 140 people on the waiting list of its methadone intervention and needle exchange program, which treats opiate addicts, are hooked on OxyContin, the most popular oxycodone brand. It’s known on the streets as “hillbilly heroin.”
The profile of today’s addict is a young male who is in school or works and comes from an intact family in the suburbs, support workers say.
Brian Paterson, executive director of Tamarack Rehabilitation Centre on Balmoral Street, has seen his share of addicts pass through the non-profit agency’s doors.
“We didn’t see this before two years ago,” he said. “For some people, one experience is enough to say, ‘Wow, I’ve got to have more of this.’ ” There are tales of dealers and users resorting to prescription fraud, robbery or theft to get their next buck or high.
Paterson said he’s heard of users injecting heroin as a cheaper alternative, raising the risk of overdose and diseases such as HIV.
Tamarack offers a 60-day secondary-stage residential treatment program. The $4,500 cost includes lodging, food and programming.
Borody and Paterson said there’s a need for more beds in treatment programs, especially for females.
Local support agencies offer a few reasons for the increase in painkiller abuse and black-market sale — some get hooked when it’s prescribed by a doctor to treat an illness or injury, while others become addicted from recreational use.
According to the provincial Drug Programs Information Network (DPIN), 26,293 OxyContin prescriptions were filled in the last fiscal year, compared with 19,064 three years ago.
Manitoba Health said pharmacists have a program to prevent prescription fraud and maintain records so people can’t “doctor shop” and get multiple prescriptions.
On Feb. 20 Winnipeg police made one of the service’s largest busts, seizing 3,400 OxyContin pills. The tablets would sell for about $40 apiece on the streets, police said.
chris.kitching@sunmedia.ca
