Canadian woman successfully battles OxyContin addiction

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by Change | 18 Mar 2010

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A Canadian woman has spoken openly about her battle with OxyContin addiction.

A woman receiving drug addiction support hit rock-bottom when her two young children were temporarily taken away from her.

Marie, who wished to withold her real name, became addicted to OxyContin pills, a drug used to alleviate pain, and found help through Canada's welfare system, the Chatham Daily News reports.

She told the newspaper that she hadn't realised that Chatham-Kent Ontario Works offered a drug addiction program whereby she could receive the financial support needed to beat her habit.

"You want to quit - the problem is there's very severe physical withdrawals, it's just like coming off heroin," she commented.

Marie and her boyfriend now attend a methadone program and have both been clean for almost 12 months.

The consequences of their drug addiction, she went on to say, are that both lost their well-paid jobs. The couple were taking two to three OxyContin pills a day, which cost between $60 and $70 each on the street.

A detox-related drug addiction therapy program has helped Marie and her partner cope with the physical withdrawals, but she told the newspaper that there is also the mental aspect to deal with.

OxyContin was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1995 and was introduced to the US market a year later.

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