A&E is Cleaning Up with The Cleaner
Submitted by KiKi Vanderhousen
It wasn’t a coincidence that A&E aired the Intervention In-Depth® episode “Heroin Hits Home” narrated by Donnie Wahlberg hours prior to Meet the Joneses. “Heroin Hits Home” is about some kids in a Boston suburb who start off taking OxyContin and eventually graduate to Heroin because it’s a similar high but it’s cheaper.
It’s a very well done episode. You can’t help feeling sympathetic for the parents of these kids who go through this addiction. You also get some background on OxyContin and why it’s known as “Hillybilly Heroin.”
I remember when I first heard of OxyContin - the new wonder pain drug. Time released, non-addictive, blah, blah, blah. As usual it was introduced with the usual hype. It took no time at all for addicts and dealers to discover how to exploit it as a recreational high. Unsuspecting family doctors were dispensing it to everyone who complained about even mediocre pain.
And that’s where the danger was because kids could find it right in the medicine cabinets of their family homes.
In Meet the Joneses, Mr. Jones tells William that’s how his wife started taking OxyContin - she sustained an injury and never stopped taking her pain pills, even after she healed. Unfortunately, that’s how a large percentage of unsuspecting OxyContin addicts end up “hooked.”
Narcotic pain killers don’t take away the pain, they disconnect your brain from the pain. That’s why they’re so effective and unfortunately, addictive. They give you this euphoric feeling that everything is wonderful.
People who would never consider themselves addicts are suddenly finding themselves addicted to painkillers - that’s exactly what happened to Brett Favre after a football injury.
When it comes to OxyContin, when you chew them, this feeling is 10 times more intense. Crush and snort them, and you’re really flying. Mix them in saline and shoot them, you’re Superman. Stop taking OxyContin and you’ll start feeling like your flesh is melting and your bones are on fire.
In the midst of the Brett Favre madness and the Olympics, we’re just now reminded that new episodes of ESPN’s E:60 sports newsmagazine series are returning Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 7pm ET. E:60 is back for 14 straight weeks, airing each Tuesday until Nov. 11.