PHARMACEUTICAL USE OF VICODIN:
Side effects seem to be relatively unimportant to those who choose to abuse Vicodin or other narcotic analgesics. What matters most are availability, cost and effect, for which Vicodin fits the bill nicely. This may be a boon to addicts, but it contributes to the multi-billion dollar cost in the US of addiction, including lost productivity, crime-related expenses (prosecution, incarceration and losses by victims of theft and robbery), treatment and rehabilitation.
In 2000, the National Institute on Drug Abuse listed hydrocodone (the narcotic ingredient in Vicodin) as an “emerging” recreational drug. Its use has risen steadily each year, and has now achieved the status of no longer being “emerging.”
According to Karen Miotto, MD, medical director of the Veterans Administration Los Angeles Ambulatory Clinic, “one reason pain killers like Vicodin are attractive to some people is because they provide a considerable feeling of well-being, but users can still function relatively normally in their jobs and personal lives—often getting away with it for years.”
Those who suffer from dependency or addiction to opiate medications may not fit the “stereotype” we attach to drug addicts. People from all walks of life, from entertainers to educators, government officials to grocery store clerks, students to stockbrokers, and orthopedists to octogenarians can find themselves in the grip of addiction.
Actress Melanie Griffith went public in 2001 when she sought treatment for a 20-year addiction to a chemical cousin of Vicodin. She was initially prescribed the drug after being injured in an automobile accident. Matthew Perry, one of the stars of the TV show Friends, claims he became dependent on Vicodin after dental surgery. Darryl Strawberry failed a drug test (allegedly due to Vicodin) before he was scheduled to present a keynote address at the annual convention of the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence. Rap star Eminem included a photograph of a Vicodin tablet on his Slim Shady CD, and reportedly has a Vicodin pill tattooed on his bicep.
While bearing in mind that drug abuse creates considerable negative social consequences, and that society has a responsibility to limit access to narcotics, it is ineffective to treat addicts as criminals simply because they use drugs. The crimes related to drug addiction are tied to the means some addicts use to get the drugs they crave.
Due to the potential for serious complications or drug interactions, doctors caution patients to avoid alcohol (which can increase drowsiness and dizziness, and may cause damage to the liver) and other medications containing acetaminophen (such as Tylenol or over-the-counter fever, cold and allergy medications).
If cost and availability weren’t issues, drug addicts wouldn’t be much different from alcoholics: people struggling with the disease of addiction. Alcohol, as a legal substance, carries less of a stigma than drug abuse; but the underlying addiction is the same in both cases. The most important consideration in society’s response to drug addiction should be helping addicts gain access to the treatment they need to achieve recovery.