US clears opioid OxyContin for 11-16 year olds

The FDA says it asked drugmaker Purdue Pharma to study how to safely use OxyContin in children.

The long-acting drug already treats adults suffering from around-the-clock pain, and has been reformulated over the years to combat rising prescription drug abuse in the United States.

Sharon Hertz, a member of FDA’s Office of New Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research noted that in this way the doctor knows that their patient tolerates and responds appropriately to opioids and knows the amount of opioid treatment needed to manage the patient’s pain. Said hightimes: “The idea that our federal government, which maintains that marijuana prohibition is in the interest of health and public safety, is fine with allowing our children to use unsafe and highly addictive pain medication before they even have both feet out of the cradle is a testament to just how crooked and blatantly hypocritical this nation has become when it comes pushing through deadly substances in the interest of kickbacks and large profits”. A sudden dose of opioid can possibly lead to overdose and death if patients have not previously been exposed to the drug so some restrictions are mandatory.

No problem, said the FDA this week when it approved the use of the notorious narcotic as a painkiller for children in certain medical circumstances.

Duragesic, which releases fentanyl, is another opioid that the FDA has approved for use by children. This medication and heroin act on the brain in a similar manner.

In general, doctors prescribe opioids for a wide range of ailments such as from post surgical pain to migraines and arthritis. It’s gained notoriety in recent years due to its frequent abuse, with addicts sometimes crushing the pills so they can be snorted or even injected to produce a more powerful high, explained USA Today.

The new approval is intended for children needing long-term pain management, such as cancer and extensive trauma or surgeries that require round-the-clock care.