The continued effort of law enforcement plays an integral role in curbing the abuse of prescription drugs in our province, says Minister of Health and Wellness Doug Currie.
“I want to congratulate Charlottetown City Police for its extensive investigation and work to reduce the number of drug dealers in our province through Operation Clean Sweep,” said Minister Currie. “Curbing the availability of prescription drugs being sold on our streets requires the work of government, law enforcement and community stakeholders working together, and I look forward to continuing this work.”
The Department of Health and Wellness has begun monitoring a list of the most highly addictive, commonly prescribed drugs on Prince Edward Island to identify instances of misuse and help curb prescription drug abuse in the province.
The list includes:
• Oxycodone (e.g.: Percocet, Endocet, Oxycocet, Oxy-IR, OxyNEO, Supeudol, Oxycontin, Targin) – Common street names include: “Percs,” “Ps,” “Coffee,” “Oxy,” “Cotton.”
• Codeine (e.g.: Codeine Contin, Tylenol with Codeine, Tylenol #2, Tylenol #3, Tylenol #4, Lenoltec, Atasol) – Common street names include “T3s,” “Schoolboy,” “Captain Cody,” “Cody.”
• Hydromorphone (e.g.: Dilaudid, Hydromorph Contin, Jurnista) – Common street names include: “Beads,” “Caps,” “Big Reds,” “Ds,” “Friend.”
• Morphine (e.g.: MOS, Statex, MS-IR, MS Contin, Kadian, M-Eslon) – Common street names include: “Dreamer,” “First line,” “Miss Emma,” “Morf,” “Unkie.”
• Fentanyl (e.g.: Duragesic, Duragesic MAT) – Common street names include: “apache,” “Dance fever,” “TNT,” “Goodfellas,” “Jackpot.”
These are all commonly prescribed drugs that are needed for legitimate medical conditions but can sometimes end up being sold and abused. “Appropriate prescriptions will require close partnership between government, physicians, pharmacists and dentists to ensure best practices are used,” said Dr. Rhonda Matters, the province’s Chief Mental Health and Addictions Officer.
The monitoring and reporting of drugs under the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act is part of the $1.2 million in actions announced in November to address concerns of rising prescription drug abuse.
Prince Edward Island has seen an increase of almost 18 per cent in opioid-based prescriptions and a 47 per cent increase in stimulant prescriptions in the 2009 to 2012 period alone. At the same time, Islanders have heard the growing concerns, harms and impacts of prescription drug abuse on the Island.
“Our government is committed to ensuring Islanders struggling with addictions have access to the care and resources they need,” said the minister. “Monitoring the prescriptions filled for these drugs will provide us with accurate data and allow us to work with physicians, other prescribers and pharmacists to decrease the supply of these drugs.”