Oxycodone treatment up
August 13, 2014
THERE has been a “considerable
increase” in the number of
episodes of people receiving
treatment for their own drug use
where oxycodone was the principal
drug of concern, according to a
report by the Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (AIHW).
The report found that from 2008-
09 to 2012-13, while the proportion
of episodes with licit opioids as
a principal drug of concern had
remained relatively stable at about
5%, episodes with oxycodone had
increased from 305 to 1,140.
This had coincided with a
decrease in the proportion of
episodes with morphine or
methadone as a drug of concern.
However an AIHW spokesperson
said there was no analysis available
as to whether this was a user shift.
National Drug and Alcohol
Research Centre researcher
Professor Louisa Degenhardt
said the AIHW report was not
a complete picture for opioid
dependence as, as mentioned in
the report, data for many drug
replacement therapies was not
included.
The Illicit Drug Reporting System
National Report 2013 found from
2012-13, those reporting injecting
oxycodone most often in the last
month rose slightly from 4% to 5%.
Oxycodone comprised the third
highest proportion of treatment
episodes where licit opioids were
the principal drug of concern at
16%, after morphine at 27% and
methadone at 25%, AIHW said.
This had grown from 5% in 2008-
09, as had oxycodone prescriptions
in the last decade, with an increase
of about 152% from 2002-03 to
2007-08, the report found.
Alcohol (41%), cannabis (24%),
amphetamines (14%) and heroin
(8%) were the most common
principal drugs of concern.
There were 108,910 clients
receiving treatment from 714
agencies - CLICK HERE for more.
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