Pubdate: Thu, 23 May 2002
Source: Day, The (CT)
Contact:  2002 The Day Publishing Co.
Website: http://www.theday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/293
Author: Paul Choiniere
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin)

OXYCONTIN LINKED TO INCREASE IN PHARMACY ROBBERIES

An increasing number of armed robberies targeting pharmacies by criminals 
seeking OxyContin has prompted one major chain to stop stocking the 
medication, raising concerns about the availability of the painkiller for 
those people who legitimately need it.

The Stop & Shop supermarket chain will no longer stock the drug at any of 
its 226 pharmacies in southern New England, New York and New Jersey.

"The decision comes after the number of robberies in drug stores throughout 
the region has continued to escalate," the company said in a prepared 
statement. "Stop & Shop is committed to providing for the needs of our 
customers, but not at the expense of the safety of our customers and 
associates."

Kelly O'Connor, a spokeswoman for the grocery chain, said with a few days' 
notice pharmacists will be able to fill OxyContin prescriptions through a 
wholesaler, but will not keep the drug in stock.

As no prescription drug before it, OxyContin has generated a debate about 
the causes of prescription drug abuse and how it can be prevented.

Abuse of OxyContin has become a major health issue, striking some rural 
communities in Maine and West Virginia particularly hard. Produced in pill 
form, it provides pain relief over many hours. It has been an effective 
drug for cancer sufferers and others dealing with chronic pain. But when 
crushed into a powder, then snorted, smoked or dissolved in water and 
injected, it produces an effect that has been compared to the high produced 
by heroin.

When abused in such fashion, OxyContin is extremely addictive and often 
deadly, especially when used with alcohol or other drugs. A federal Drug 
Enforcement Administration review of autopsy records, released last month, 
concluded the drug may have played a role in as many as 464 drug overdose 
deaths in the last two years. In Connecticut last year, OxyContin 
contributed to 19 deaths, compared to 120 deaths caused by heroin, the 
biggest killer drug. The state totals come from drug-death records supplied 
by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The addictive nature of the drug has driven addicts needing it, or dealers 
looking to sell it for $40 to $80 a pill on the streets, to rob pharmacies. 
Federal crime statistics do not list pharmacies as a separate statistic, 
but the trend is apparent to law enforcement agencies.

The first such armed robbery of a pharmacy in this region took place April 
2, when a man stole a cache of narcotics from the Medicine Shoppe at 613 
Broad St. in New London. Owner and pharmacist Henry Cormier, who was forced 
to turn over the drugs at gunpoint, said the robber demanded narcotics in 
general, not just OxyContin.

More OxyContin was stolen last week during a holdup of a pharmacy in 
Madison, and police there are checking to see if there is a connection with 
the New London incident. Despite the traumatic incident, Cormier said he 
will continue to stock OxyContin and other drugs for the people who need 
them. "The need overcomes the risk," he said. "There are people, especially 
nursing home patients, who are in need of this drug."

Pharmacists contacted across the region said they, too, continue to stock 
the drug, but none wanted their names or the names of their pharmacies used 
in this report for fear of becoming the next robbery target.

"Of course you think about it," said one pharmacist. "And we've taken 
additional security precautions in light of what's happening. But we're 
here to serve people in need, and we can't stop doing that because of a few 
idiots."

Dr. John J. Paggioli, a pain management specialist at the Backus Pain 
Center in Norwich, said so far concerns about the abuse of OxyContin has 
not prevented it from getting to those who need it. He said his office must 
be sure to provide prescriptions several days ahead for those patients 
using Stop & Shop pharmacies.

For Purdue Pharma of Stamford, which won approval for OxyContin in 1995, 
the news surrounding the abuse of the drug has become a major public 
relations problem. In congressional hearings, the company faced criticism 
for not recognizing that large sales in some communities clearly 
outstripped the health demand. Critics also contend aggressive marketing by 
the company led to over-prescribing by doctors and put more OxyContin on 
the street.

In recent months Purdue Pharma has launched its own campaign to turn the 
focus from abuse of OxyContin in particular to the abuse of prescription 
drugs in general, and ways to attack the problem. Timothy F. Brannon, 
senior director of public affairs for the pharmaceutical company, said that 
far more prescription drugs end up on the streets because of phony 
prescriptions -- or "doctor shopping" -- than because of robberies. Doctor 
shopping refers to patients who visit several doctors, getting 
prescriptions from each, only to abuse the drugs or sell them illegally.

OxyContin produced $1.2 billion in sales in 2001, ranking it among the top 
selling "blockbuster" drugs. The company recognizes that sales could be 
hurt if doctors are reluctant to prescribe it or pharmacies, such as Stop & 
Shop, refuse to stock it.

"We are concerned how decisions such as these put criminals in charge of 
health policies," said Bannon. "The stated reason for (Stop & Shop) to do 
this was fear of criminals. It should concern all of us as a society when 
we sacrifice the needs of innocent victims of disease to the whims of 
predators."

Dr. J. David Haddox, senior medical director of health policy at Pharma, 
said simple changes -- such as being careful when writing prescriptions or 
using tamper-resistant prescription pads -- could dramatically reduce 
abuse. Alteration, forgery and counterfeiting of prescriptions account for 
a substantial amount of drug diversion to the streets, he said.

By carefully writing prescriptions, doctors can deter criminals from 
slipping in altered numbers to get more of a drug or a higher-strength 
dose, he said. Pharma is also providing free to doctors prescription pads 
that, because of special hidden markings, are difficult to counterfeit. The 
company has distributed 10,400 pads in 30 states, Bannon said.

The company is also preparing an educational program called "Painfully 
Obvious" that will be geared to middle school and high school students to 
provide information about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs. School 
programs now focus largely on illegal street drugs, Haddox said. A Pharma 
TV commercial campaign, cautioning against the abuse of prescription drugs, 
never mentions OxyContin.

During the past legislative session, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal 
campaigned for legislation to create a statewide prescription 
drug-monitoring program. Pharmacists and doctors could use the database to 
identify doctor-shopping patients. The proposal died in committee amidst 
concerns such a program would be an invasion of privacy and could be used 
to deny health insurance coverage.

Blumenthal contends safeguards could be designed to prevent abuse of the 
information.
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