Drug Diversion - Drugs That Are Diverted

Drugs That Are Diverted

• Opioids (including opium alkaloids) such as morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone (OxyContin) and codeine.
• Pseudoephedrine or ephedrine, used in illicit production of methamphetamine or methcathinone. Ephedrine is also abused itself.
• Dextromethorphan (DXM), the active ingredient of cough medications like Robitussin DM, is abused for its effects which are similar to ketamine and PCP.
• Non-opioid depressants, mainly benzodiazepines such as diazepam, temazepam, clonazepam, and alprazolam.
• Stimulants such as amphetamine and methylphenidate. These have similar effects to cocaine and methamphetamine.
• Less commonly: benzydamine, dimenhydrinate, diphenhydramine, modafinil.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has implemented various measures against drug diversion in the United States. For example, retail sales of pseudoephedrine are limited in certain stores to specified amounts. In addition, several states have passed legislation requiring proof of identification and a written record of all pseudoephdrine sales.

Critics of the current policy on drug diversion claim that the problem is exacerbated by a lack of public knowledge regarding the abuse of prescription pharmaceuticals. In the recent Florida case of Rush Limbaugh, who was accused of painkiller abuse, critics also argued that the line between pharmaceutical opiates and street opiate remains vague in current law. Prescription painkillers can be stronger than the opiates, mostly heroin, which are sold as part of the illegal drug trade. While the purity of illegal opiates can vary widely, pharmaceutical manufacturing results in a uniform potency and benefits from government oversight, a factor which decreases the perceived danger of prescription pharmaceuticals.