Drug Inspector Question:

Oxycodone is a narcotic painkiller prescribed in slow-release pills that work over a period of 12 hours, the most popular brand of which is OxyContin. The prescription caused a wave of teen incidents in the 2000s, including many instances of addiction and death. Although the tablets are slow-release, teens crush them into a powder and snort them, releasing the full amount and potency of the drug all at once. As this trend caught fire, users began spending upwards of $80 for a single pill. To counteract the growing popularity of the drug, in 2013, the FDA approved a variant that couldn’t be crushed into powder.