Particle Physics: Shooting Pills God Meant for you to Swallow

GEORGE ARLOS

The media storm around OxyContin has done more to give that drug the gleam of forbidden fruit than all the drug-warriors could have. Perhaps the most dangerous non-fact repeated in the news is that OxyContin is comparable to heroin when injected. (Yes, of course: Heroin is an opioid; OxyContin is a opioid, therefore OxyContin is Heroin. It's enough to make Aristotle hit the Pipe!)

This is a new twist on the old middle class nightmare that heroin has jumped the ghetto-wall and is stalking decent (read "white") kids down the streets of decent (read "white") neighborhoods. Only in Oxy version of the story, it's not copped from a (black/Latino) dealer but prescribed by a (white) physician and purchased from a smiling (white) pharmacist. What could be more diabolical!!!

The real danger of the assertion that OxyContin is a substitute for heroin is that it increases the likelihood that more people will inject it. Oxy is not an injectable drug, or rather it wasn't made to be injected. Of course, anything is injectable if there's the will. In fact, Oxy is not all that easy to inject. First one must remove the coating, which is usually shaved or washed off. Then one is left with just another pill (like so many others) that doesn't dissolve in water. This means patiently filtering it, if you don't want to clog your veins and your syringe with crap.

Second, shooting pills that are not meant to be shot isn't good for you. Those of you old enough might remember the Lou Reed song:
"all your two-bit friends,
they shoot you up with pills,
they say they're good for you,
that they will cure your ills,etc."

(Ol' Lou, he knew...)

OxyContin contains buffers and fillers that are common to many pharmaceutical medications. "Fillers" hold the pill together, and are also used to effect its appearance and consistency. The filler that probably causes the most trouble is talc (magnesium trisilicate). Yes, it's talcum powder. It's in lots of pills. When it gets in your bloodstream, this mineral can cause damage to blood vessels in your lungs, and also cause nodules and scarring in the lungs. Symptoms of lung disease associated with shooting pills cut with talc (pulmonary granulomas, interstitial lung disease, etc.) are difficulty breathing, which increases as the disease progresses, wheezing and persistent cough sometimes with blood present. Talc nodules may also show up in the liver, kidney, and spleen.

Another condition resulting from injecting talc is "talc retinopathy". This condition is usually discovered by eye doctors who notice tiny foreign bodies during eye exams. This condition, if severe, can lead to detached retinas, but seems not to be harmful in most cases. It was first found by eye doctors in patients who were shooting Ritalin tablets.

When injected, the fillers in pills can also lead to complications due to blocked blood vessels, like varicose ulcers and gangrene. Irritation caused by the build-up of insoluble binders behind heart valves can lead to endocarditis.

An old friend of mine once hit an artery in his arm while shooting Seconal, which still had a ton of fillers in the shot. Well, the particles lodged in the capillaries throughout his arm and he had to have the limb amputated. He said the pain from this unfortunate hit was almost unbearable. I tell this to point out that while hitting an artery is bad news, hitting one with a shot containing pill-binders is that much worse. When in doubt pull out.

All in all not a pretty picture.

What is to be done? Well, first off, remember most drugs formulated for oral use are better if used that way. OxyContin is a case in point. Orally it lasts longer and the effect is much more even. There's also less of a blood-level rollercoaster than you get with repeated injection. The reason it was formulated as a sustained release medication is that it works BETTER that way!!

If all of this doesn't repel you and you must use oral medications by injection, there are serious risks you can reduce. Reduce is the operative word here. Injecting drugs contained in pills means risking injecting the other stuff that comes in them as well, and eliminating those other substances is a complex, imperfect process. You may be reducing risk, but you are still taking a risk.

It is best to use a 3cc syringe with a removable point. Such a big syringe has stronger suction than the more common 1 or 1/2cc syringe, so it's easier to draw a pill and mixture through a large cotton filter. A syringe of this size will also hold more water so that water lost in the filtering process isn't such a big deal. Using too much water is going to make it hard to maneuver, though. The best removable point is the "luer lock" which screws onto the syringe.

Drop a large cotton into a cooker containing a thin pill and water mixture. Trying to filter through the point will take forever and possibly clog the point, so take the point off your syringe and lay the hub of the syringe straight down onto the cotton with gentle, even pressure. The solution shouldn't rise much above the cotton. (It helps is the cooker is flat and shallow, like a tablespoon.) The solution should then be filtered through the cotton by drawing up on the plunger slowly and evenly. Never draw up faster than the liquid is coming into the syringe.

No matter how patient and careful you are with the first filtering of the solution, there will still be particles in the syringe. It will still appear somewhat cloudy. This process should be repeated at least two more times. The clearer the end product is lower the risk.

Isn't it easier to just pop a couple of 40mg. Oxys and wash 'em down with your favorite beverage? I leave the answer to you, Gentle Reader.