Companies Attempt Abuse-Proof Opioids

**Justin** · 04-13-2011, 10:53 AM

(MedPage Today) -- In response to what the federal government declared an "epidemic" of prescription painkiller addiction, the makers of opioid painkillers are struggling to create abuse-proof drugs...

Companies Attempt Abuse-Proof Opioids (click here for the full article at MedPage Today)

**KBear** · 04-13-2011, 12:15 PM

Very interesting, pretty amazing what they can do.

**trkdoc714** · 04-13-2011, 06:40 PM

I understand even Suboxone is being dispensed in a disolvable strip rather than tablets as abusers were crushing and injecting the tablets.

I think abusers will figure out a way to abuse no matter what is designed.

**Justin** · 04-13-2011, 10:33 PM

Originally Posted by KBear

Very interesting, pretty amazing what they can do.

Very true.

Originally Posted by trkdoc714

I understand even Suboxone is being dispensed in a disolvable strip rather than tablets as abusers were crushing and injecting the tablets.

I think abusers will figure out a way to abuse no matter what is designed.

Yes, this is correct. There's actually talk that they might do away with the tablets and just strictly do the dissolvable strips (FYI: for those unfamiliar with the strips, they look like the Listerine breath strips.)

**KanRunMo** · 04-14-2011, 04:56 PM

Wow. My friend broke her pelvis in two places a few weeks ago and has been in extreme pain. She's had trouble getting enough pain medication. The abusers cause all of us, the doctors and the pharmaceutical labs a lot of trouble.

**RetroVirus** · 06-14-2011, 08:09 PM

Maybe they should look into Antabuse, a drug that can cause a person who is taking certain drugs to become sick when they take them. Like an alcoholic would take Antabuse, and then if they drank beer, they would become sick. Kind of like psychological conditioning.

**Justin** · 06-14-2011, 10:03 PM

Originally Posted by RetroVirus

Maybe they should look into Antabuse, a drug that can cause a person who is taking certain drugs to become sick when they take them. Like an alcoholic would take Antabuse, and then if they drank beer, they would become sick. Kind of like psychological conditioning.

Suboxone--a drug used to treat psychological addiction to opioids--actually has naloxone as a component. If Suboxone is dissolved so that it can be injected via a needle, the person injecting the Suboxone will immediately go into nasty withdrawal. The naloxone will "kick" the opioid off of its receptor so that it no longer "works." (Note: opioids only work if they are "docked" on specific receptors.)