tagged w/ Hillbilly Heroin
-
Hillbilly Heroin – Mon 1st Feb, Virgin 155 and Sky 183
More hard-hitting documentaries coming up on Mondays here:
http://current.com/groups/monday/
There’s an epidemic of pharmaceutical drug abuse sweeping the U.S. that’s claiming 11 lives a day, with more people abusing prescription drugs than heroin, cocaine and ecstasy combined. The drug of choice for many is Oxycodone, AKA Hillbilly Heroin. Current correspondent Mariana Van Zeller reports the escalating abuse of the drug and the devastating effects it’s having on the nation. Mariana also investigates why Florida is the epicenter of the problem with ‘pain medication’ clinics liberally dispensing the drugs and attracting addicts from all over the country.
Hillbilly Heroin – Mon 1st Feb, Virgin 155 and Sky 183
More hard-hitting documentaries coming up on Mondays here:
http://current.com/groups/monday/
Join the group to get regular updates on our Mondays at 10 documentaries.Hillbilly Heroin – Mon 1st Feb, Virgin 155 and Sky 183
More hard-hitting... more
-
-
In the season premiere of Vanguard, correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to South Florida, the "Colombia of prescription drugs", to expose a bustling pill pipeline that stretches from the beaches of Ft. Lauderdale to the rolling hills of Appalachia. "The OxyContin Express" features intimate access with pill addicts, prisoners and law enforcement as each struggles with a growing national epidemic.
***Vanguard is Current TV's original documentary series. Led by correspondents Laura Ling, Mariana van Zeller, Christof Putzel, Adam Yamaguchi and Kaj Larsen, Vanguard features enterprising reports from around the globe. It airs every Wednesday at 10pm on Current TV. And you can view all Vanguard stories by visiting current.com/vanguard.***In the season premiere of Vanguard, correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to South... more
-
-
NEW from Dickhouse! The Creators of JACKASS -- A new documentary about a legendary American family.
Shoot-outs, robberies, gas-huffing, drug dealing, pill popping, murders, and tap dancing. From MTV Studios and executive producers Johnny Knoxville and Jeff Tremaine (Jackass) comes a shocking and outlandish year-in-the-life documentary about the White Family of Boone County, West Virginia's most notorious and surly family
---------------------------
Indie_Film @current_movies
Pericles_Lewnes
Twitter: loopmovieNEW from Dickhouse! The Creators of JACKASS -- A new documentary about a legendary... more
-
-
Doctors are being abused and manipulated into wrongfully prescribing the painkiller oxycodone, with New South Wales Health saying up to 20 GPs have had to be referred to the authorities this year.
Acting chief pharmacist Bruce Battye said there were concerns about the increased use of the painkiller, dubbed hillbilly heroin, over the past few years.
Oxycodone is a morphine-based medication prescribed to people suffering cancer or other debilitating conditions.
Mr Battye said some patients were manipulating and pressuring doctors into prescribing the drug, which can cost as little as $5 for 20 tablets under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Each tablet then has a street value of up to $50.
"Unfortunately some doctors who are targeted by these patients, before they know it they have a lot of these patients on their hands," Mr Battye said.
"When they have those 20 tablets in their hands they suddenly have 20 times $40 or $50."
Mr Battye said addicts commonly crush up and inject some of the tablets and sell the rest. He added the ability to profiteer on oxycodone was so great there were instances where people were willing to pay $700 for 240 tablets without the PBS subsidy in order to onsell the drugs.
But in the hands of the wrong person, oxycodone can cause nausea, drowsiness and even death, he said.
Any concerns by NSW Health about the quantity of oxycodone being prescribed is first dealt with through a one-on-one educational session with doctors, who are warned about the consequences. If the high level of prescriptions continue, the doctor is investigated.
Mr Battye said up to 20 doctors had been investigated for wrongly prescribing the painkiller in 2008.
"We probably referred maybe a dozen doctors, maybe up to 20 doctors to the Health Care Complaints Commission or the Medical Board for inappropriate prescribing," he said.
"And that will generally be after they've already been spoken to and given advice."
Six doctors in one unnamed regional area of NSW were all counselled, resulting in four of them altering their prescribing practices. Of the two doctors that did not, one relinquished their ability to prescribe oxycodone and other Schedule 8 drugs three months later, after a follow-up investigation.
The other was taken to the medical board and stripped of their ability to prescribe Schedule 8 and Schedule 4 drugs.
Mr Battye said the illegal use of oxycodone was not just a problem in NSW, but also across Australia and in Europe and the United States.
Doctors are being abused and manipulated into wrongfully prescribing the painkiller... more
-
