Theodore J Cicero, Matthew S Ellis
IMPORTANCE: In an effort to reduce wide-scale abuse of the proprietary oxycodone hydrochloride formulation OxyContin, an abuse-deterrent formulation (ADF) was introduced in 2010. Although the reformulation produced an immediate drop in abuse rates, a definite ceiling effect appeared over time, beyond which no further decrease was seen. OBJECTIVE: To examine the factors that led to the initial steep decline in OxyContin abuse and the substantial levels of residual abuse that have remained relatively stable since 2012...
May 2015: JAMA Psychiatry