1995- OxyContin enters the US market

OxyContin, a long acting version of oxycodone, which slowly releases the drug over 12 hours, is introduced and aggressively marketed as a safer pain pill by manufacturer, Purdue Pharma. The FDA approved relabeling the reformulated version as abuse-resistant. However, drug users quickly learned how to simply crush the controlled release tablet to swallow, inhale, or inject the high-strength opioid for a powerful morphine-like high. In fact, Purdue’s private testing conducted in 1995 determined that 68% of the oxycodone could be extracted from an OxyContin tablet when crushed.