THERE'S A NEW DRUG IN TOWN

Many Chico State University Students Know Of It, Some Have Even Tried It.

But few know what it is.

OxyContin, an opiate narcotic prescribed most commonly to people dealing
with severe, long-term pain, is arguably the current "it" drug and has
become a staple on the Chico party scene in the last two years.

Because its user population is rapidly expanding to include those who do
not routinely use prescription drugs, knowledge of its effects reaches few.

The Campus Alcohol and Drug Resource Center reported an increase in
students referred for OxyContin addictions since last spring.

Shauna Quinn, a project manager at CADEC, said she sees students on an
individual basis for drug addiction counseling and intervention.

"I was told OxyContin is the No. 1 drug that people are receiving treatment
for addiction to in the area," Quinn said. "People don't know a lot about
it, but I feel that statement weighs heavily."

Quinn said students are referred to CADEC by professors who have suspicions
of problems. She said students often come to CADEC seeking information on a
drug, and most recently, she has noticed an increase in students seeking
information on OxyContin.

"That's always the biggest indicator that street use of a particular drug
is on the rise," Quinn said. "There's a ring of street use of OxyContin,
and it's scary because of the level of addictiveness. I mean, this drug is
more dangerous than Ecstasy, but few people even know what it is."

In the past year, several Web sites have been initialized with the purpose
of educating people about OxyContin's dangers.

One such Web Site is www.oxyabusekills.com. According to the site,
OxyContin is one of several opium derivatives available by prescription. It
is a high potency painkiller that comes in time-release tablets that last
for 12 hours.

Time release simply means a coating on the pill that prevents the drug from
being released to the body all at once.

Dr. Roland Lamarine, a professor teaching a class entitled "Drugs in
American Film," said that while opiates like OxyContin don't have a long
term effect on the body like other drugs, people commonly mix OxyContin
with alcohol and that's when deaths occur.

"Alcohol is a depressant, as is OxyContin," he said. "When the two are
mixed, there is a synergistic effect that makes both more potent. That's
when people die."

He said there's always been a drug that everyone wants to try, and right
now, OxyContin is it.

According to the Federal Drug Administration, warnings and precautions have
been issued about the potential misuse of the drug.

People have figured out that if you crush or chew the tablet and snort it
through the nose, the time-release feature will be bypassed, according to
www.oxyabusekills. Then, the high obtained will be much like one from a
high-grade Heroin.

"Five milligrams of OxyContin has as much active ingredient (oxycodone) as
one Percocet," www.oxyabusekills reported. "So chewing or snorting a 40
milligrams OxyContin is like taking eight Percocets at once, or an 80
milligrams OxyContin is like taking 16 Percocets all at once but worse
because Percocets dissolve over four hours."

One Chico State student, John, said he takes OxyContin every once in a
while and doesn't feel the drug is dangerous.

"It's like, the ultimate if you like pain killers," John said. "They're
really hard to get, so when you get them it's like a special occasion."

John said he snorts the drug and rarely drinks on them.

"I know that people think they're addictive, but if you only do them
occasionally, they're not bad," John said. "A lot of people take OxyContin.
It's the buzz in Chico right now."

John said OxyContin has a similar effect of heroin. It makes his body feel
euphoric, he said.

Another Chico State student, Joe, never thought experimenting with
OxyContin would result in addiction, but now that he is clean he reflects
on the one and a half years he abused the drug.

Raised in Moraga, an affluent Bay Area community, he entered Chico State as
a freshman, drinking on the weekends and smoking marijuana, he said. But
that wasn't enough for him.

"The first time I tried OxyContin was a couple years ago," he said. "I was
a sophomore. I'd tried other prescription drugs like Vicodin and really
liked them. As soon as I tried OxyContin, though, I loved it. That was it.
It's this indescribable feeling you get. It's euphoria."

He said that OxyContin use allows a user to continue to function as a student.

"I felt that OxyContin actually heightened my ability to learn," he said.
"I was in such a state of euphoria all the time, that I embraced everything
that I learned."

After using OxyContin 10 times, he said he was sure that his body had
developed an addiction to the drug. At a cost of between $20-$30 per day,
he was spending all of his money to feed his habit.

"I felt so good on it, but that wasn't all of it," he said. "It was that I
felt so sick off of it. There was no time, for a year and a half, that I
wasn't high."

Every minute of his life for one and a half years was dedicated to finding
OxyContin. He said there are only a few people in Chico who sell the drug,
and at any given time, he was trying to find it.

"There's a small group of people who are associated with OxyContin," he
said. "Those are the people that would have it, but whenever someone would
have it, it would go almost immediately."

He said the greater Chico area, including Paradise, Magalia and Corning, is
well-known for having a lot of OxyContin because there are many elderly
people who have it prescribed to them. He said those people then sell it to
people who sell it to students. Also, he said, there are pharmaceutical
representatives who are issued samples of the drug and then sell it to dealers.

He said that while focused on his state of euphoria, his life was
collapsing around him. He alienated himself from his friends, especially
those who were concerned for his well-being, he said.

"It is fact that the body handles opiates really well," he said. "Alcohol
and other prescription drugs will tear up your liver but opiates aren't as
bad. That's what I would tell my friends to justify OxyContin. And I guess
that's what I'd tell myself too."

Financially supported by his parents, he used all of the money he received
to pay for OxyContin.

"But it's never enough," he said.

Selling used sports equipment and CDs evolved into breaking into cars and
borrowing from friends -- all to pay for drugs.

"All the while, I was still going to school, still making it work," he said.

When he finally decided he no longer wanted to live that way, he began to
wean himself off of OxyContin.

"Withdrawals are ... I don't even know how to describe them," he said.
"Imagine every pore in your body in the worst pain you've ever felt.
Imagine the worst hangover you've ever had. Now multiply it by a million.
It's not even close. You're too tired to stay awake, you're too sick to
fall asleep. You're sweating, shaking, throwing up."

He said getting clean is the hardest thing he's ever done. He's been clean
for five months.

"People think just because it's a pill, it's not bad," he said. "OxyContin
is actually just shy of heroin. I'm so lucky I didn't kill myself or get
some STD. I'm so lucky I got my life back together. If you look at the drug
objectively, using it will just make you a waste, and it's so hard. I can't
stress enough how hard it is."