Pubdate: Mon, 13 Aug 2001
Source: Connecticut Post (CT)
Copyright: 2001sMediaNews Group, Inc
Contact:  http://www.ctpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/574
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin)

DRUG NEEDS LIMITS

To people crippled with pain, the drug OxyContin, manufactured by Purdue 
Pharma of Stamford, is a wonder drug, offering effective relief for hours 
at a time.

But like just about everything else that is good, OxyContin has a dark 
side. This is because the time-release tablets can easily be ground up and 
snorted, like cocaine, for an effective high, and thereby defeat the 
gradual-release feature of this painkiller.

This has resulted in a homegrown drug epidemic that had hit rural Eastern 
states, from Maine to Appalachia, particularly hard. Armed robberies of 
drug stores and emergency rooms have become commonplace, particularly in 
Kentucky, where 59 deaths have been attributed to OxyContin.

Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has correctly 
targeted Purdue Pharma for carrying most of the blame for this epidemic, 
and for being the best hope for halting the out-of-control misuse of the 
product.

Purdue Pharma has raked in $1.24 billion in sales for OxyContin in a 
12-month period beginning in May 2000, thanks to the 6.9 million 
prescriptions written for the drug, Clearly, many of these prescriptions 
were intended either directly or indirectly for the illegal market.

A quick check on the Internet makes it clear that just about anyone can get 
the product without having to go through the trouble of getting a prescription.

Blumenthal is asking Purdue to immediately limit distribution of the drug, 
and, farther down the road, to reformulate the pill so it cannot be so 
easily used to achieve a high. He's also asking Purdue to allocate a 
portion of the profits to drug addiction treatment and abuse prevention 
efforts.

We were disappointed that Purdue has not properly responded to Blumenthal's 
legitimate concerns, and instead accused the attorney general of using a 
harsh tone.

Purdue is clearly wrong on this one. The wonder pain reliever is causing a 
good deal of pain itself, and Purdue must be held partially accountable for 
abuse of its drug.
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