Pubdate: Thu, 25 Oct 2001
Source: Concord Monitor (NH)
Copyright: 2001 Monitor Publishing Company
Contact:  http://www.cmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/767
Author: Stephanie Hanes
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin)

OXYCONTIN RAGE 'SEEMS TO HAVE TAKEN OVER'

Wave Of Pharmacy Robberies Concerns Police, Pharmacists

The prescription painkiller that made national news this year as the 
country's fastest-spreading illicitly used narcotic has recently 
emerged as Concord's drug of choice, the police said.

OxyContin, a powerful drug that produces a heroin-like high, was the 
target of two pharmacy robberies here this month and the apparent 
goal of recent holdups throughout central and southern New Hampshire, 
the police said.

"This drug seems to have taken over," said Concord Police Detective 
Todd Flanagan, who is investigating Concord's robberies.

The situation has challenged investigators, who have less experience 
fighting legal drugs than they do combating illegal narcotics. It has 
also tested area pharmacists, who say they fear future Oxy-related 
crime and violence.

"I don't want to reduce the service to my customers, but there is a 
safety issue for myself and my staff," said one local pharmacist, who 
did not want to be named for fear of becoming a target. "I've been in 
pharmacy 25 years. I've never seen anything like this before."

OxyContin entered the market in 1995 as a painkiller able to provide 
up to 12 hours of relief. Since then, it has been widely prescribed 
for cancer patients, those with long-lasting back soreness and others 
with chronic pain. Developed with a time-release formula, one strong 
OxyContin tablet releases multiple pain-relief doses, eliminating the 
need to take numerous pain pills during the course of a day.

If the tablet is crushed, though, or is dissolved in water and 
injected, those time-release functions are disabled, and the entire 
strength of the pill is felt at once. The high is similar to heroin, 
drug experts say, except more potent and possibly more addictive.

"I've spoken to informants who have taken all sorts of drugs over the 
course of their lives," Flanagan said. "And they're saying this stuff 
is unreal."

Over the past two years, OxyContin use has exploded throughout the 
eastern United States, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency reports. 
In Kentucky and West Virginia, the drug's popularity earned it the 
title "hillbilly heroin." Last year, Maine reported OxyContin as the 
state's top narcotic threat. And in Massachusetts, officials have 
reported an explosion in the drug's illegal use.

"It's just devastated the Portland area," said Sgt. Mike Hambrook, 
the assistant unit commander of narcotics investigations for the New 
Hampshire State Police. "And (OxyContin) robberies in Massachusetts 
are a daily occurrence."

But it is only in the past months that the drug has surfaced - at 
least publicly - in Concord.

"This is the new kid on the block, certainly," Concord Police Chief 
Jerry Madden said.

Some investigators and pharmacists speculate that illicit OxyContin 
did not just arrive in the Concord area, but that addicts have, until 
recently, been able to secure the drug through forged and duplicate 
prescriptions, which would make drug possession appear legal. Kathy 
Descheneaux, the chief forensic investigator at the state's Medical 
Examiner's office, said she has not noticed a significant spike in 
deaths involving oxycodone, OxyContin's active ingredient.

"The fact that people are taking it by force or robbery is new to 
central New Hampshire," said Tom Wilmot, the manager at Capital 
Pharmacy. "I don't think there's been any increase in illegal 
prescriptions."

Because area pharmacists have become more careful about OxyContin 
distribution, it has been harder to get the drugs, the police 
speculated. Which could be one explanation for the spate of 
robberies, they said.

OxyContin addicts are desperate, and will put themselves and others 
in danger to get the drugs, the police said. The high retail value of 
OxyContin tablets - a bottle can sell for $2,000 - can also prompt 
illegal activity.

In other states, some pharmacists have refused to carry the drug, 
placing signs in pharmacy windows announcing as much to potential 
robbers. Many area pharmacists said they were loath to stop providing 
OxyContin entirely since it is such an effective drug for those who 
legitimately need it, but said they couldn't help but think about the 
risks to their own safety. An official at the New Hampshire Board of 
Pharmacy said the group was working on an OxyContin policy but would 
not give further details.

"This is the newest drug of choice," Madden said. "I don't know how 
widespread it is, but it's obviously an issue for people right now. 
And they're not street drugs. They're in pharmacies."
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