Recently we've told you about a growing number of adults and teens arrested for abusing prescription painkillers.
One recovering addict says he knows how easy it is to get hooked -- and he says, he knows, he is by no means, alone.
He told his story to News Specialist Stacey Butler.
Painkillers like percocet and oxycontin come in tidy little pills and are free from the stigma of street drugs and dirty needles.
But as one recovering addict said, no matter how acceptable they look, they are no less destructive than the likes of heroin or methamphetamine.
Joe: "THIS IS BASICALLY THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES' BEST VERSION OF HEROIN."
The man we will call "Joe" is talking about the commonly prescribed pain medication-- oxycontin.
Joe: "IT'S PRETTY COMMON OUT THERE."
Proud of the fact that he doesn't even drink alcohol,
Joe got the oxycontin from a neighbor after he injured his hand.
Joe: "IT GOT TO THE POINT WHERE I WASN'T TAKING IT REALLY FOR PAIN. IT FELT REALLY, REALLY GOOD."
In a matter of days, he was hooked.
Joe: "IT WAS GREAT. YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SMELL LIKE WEED OR SMELL ALCOHOL, YOU FELT REALLY HIGH AND NO ONE REALLY KNEW."
He soon found he wasn't alone.
Joe: "I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE POPPING UP AND OTHER PEOPLE THAT WERE USING PAINKILLERS."
Eventually, he was arrested for drug posession.
And that's when he decided to get clean.
Joe: "THIS WAS NOT WORTH IT. THIS WAS A MAJOR WAKE UP CALL."
Two weeks of gut-wrenching withdrawals,
and after four months of addiction,
Joe began to count the costs.
Joe: "FIFTEEN HUNDRED OR SO."
But the highest price is yet to come.
Joe: "I THINK I'LL PROBABLY BE TEMPTED, YOU KNOW, MY WHOLE LIFE."
An undercover Salt Lake County detective says, under the shroud of medicine---
Undercover Detective: "IT RUNS THE GAMUT, FROM SOMEONE YOU WOULD EXPECT TO BE A DRUG ABUSER OR DEALER, TO PEOPLE YOU WOULDN'T EVEN DREAM."
Police say a growing number of housewives and teens, doctors and athletes, people from all walks of life, are justifying their seemingly legal addiction. They now account for some 40 percent of Salt Lake County drug arrests.
"IT DIDN'T FIT THE STEREOTYPE OF WHAT WE SEE AS DRUG ABUSE IN AMERICA. BUT IT'S THERE AND IT'S A PROBLEM THAT IS OFTEN IGNORED AND OVERLOOKED."
May 2, 2002
