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Oxycodone, a molecule with effects similar to morphine, is increasingly prescribed. But it can be more dangerous, especially because it is addictive. In the United States, cases of overdose are numerous.
Ashore in the United States, a man suffers an opioid overdose. “He really could have died. Luckily for him, passers-by had an overdose drug on them.“, explains an emergency physician. Several molecules are regularly implicated in the country, including oxycodone. Like morphine, it is an analgesic, a powerful painkiller. This molecule is increasingly prescribed in France In New Aquitaine, this increase is even 25% in four years.
Adverse effects and risk of addiction
“Until the 2010s, the indication was reserved mainly for pain of cancerous origin“, explains Maryse Lapeyre-Mestre, head of the addiction monitoring center in Toulouse. Oxycodone has side effects comparable to those of morphine, but has the additional disadvantage of presenting a risk of drug interaction. Difficult, therefore , to explain its success, especially since it is addictive.