I am worried about my son opening the capsule and injecting it? He has abuse history with opiates?

Dear Hetty,

I'm sorry no one responded to this question - I'm not on this part of the forum very often, so this is the first I've seen it. YES - you have reason to be concerned. Kadian, as you probably know, is morphine - a powerful, highly-addicted opiate. The capsule is probably an extended-release form.

If the pellets are chewed or dissolved, the time-release factor is eliminated. So, yes, there IS the danger of his injecting it this way.

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If your son has had a problem with abusing opiates, he can not take ANY opiate in safety, and control its use. That's just how addiction operates, not a judgment of him. If I were you, I'd make sure he never had the chance to hold the prescription bottle - or ingest the drugs outside of your view. You need to take charge of administering it - and checking to see that he SWALLOWED it, not just 'cheeked it' - to shoot later. Then keep that bottle hidden in the most obscure place you can possibly imagine. (Try something like inside a dirty sock at the bottom of your hamper!) I know it's hard to be that tough on him, checking his mouth - but, with this drug - and given his history - it could save his life. Ingesting ALL of this medication (without the time released benefit) can be fatal.