Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2007 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2007 Journal Sentinel Inc. Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Author: Jacqueline Seibel Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) OXYCONTIN ABUSE SPURS ROBBERIES ACROSS THE STATE Although the manufacturer of OxyContin has agreed to hefty fines for lying about the drug's addictive properties, law enforcement officials in Wisconsin and elsewhere are left dealing with a rash of pharmacy robberies by people apparently desperate for the drug. The city of Waukesha alone has had four pharmacy robberies in recent months. Also, police in Germantown, Hartland, Plymouth and West Allis are each investigating recent pharmacy robberies. Authorities can't link the robberies with any common thread other than that the robbers were looking for OxyContin or its generic equivalent oxycodone. Waukesha County's Addiction Resource Council is also dealing with a surge of clients using oxycodone. The organization reports that abuse of marijuana has leveled off, and that after alcohol, OxyContin and other opiates continue to be the fastest growing drug of choice, said Claudia Roska, council executive director. For 10% of the center's clients - 61 people - heroin or oxycodone is the secondary drug of choice, according to statistics from the council released in December. That is up from less than 1% of all clients just four years ago. OxyContin abuse is a growing problem because many users have enough money and access to medical care to get it prescribed initially, starting them on the road to problems, she said. Abusers are not buying OxyContin pills on the street, she said, calling the drug a good pain medication but one easily abused. Addiction to such prescribed medication doesn't carry the stigma that addiction to an illegal drug has, she added. "The general public knows very little about the medication," Roska said of oxycodone. People have likely heard of the drug, but they don't know about the possible bad effects, she said. Oxycodone has been over-prescribed and is more addictive than previously thought, Roska said. Many who become dependent do not fit the public image of a drug addict, generally having a good income, health insurance and families. In response to the growing problem of oxycodone addiction, the Addiction Resource Council is kicking off an anti-drug campaign in August for Waukesha County, Roska said. Drug Executives Convicted In May, the drug maker Purdue Pharma L.P. agreed to pay $19.5 million to 26 states - including Wisconsin - and the District of Columbia to settle complaints that the drug maker encouraged physicians to over-prescribe OxyContin. Wisconsin's share of the settlement is $719,500, according to state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. State attorneys general complained that the Stamford, Conn.-based company urged doctors to prescribe OxyContin every eight hours instead of the 12-hour dose approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Purdue denied that it had been pushing inappropriate dosing. Also in May, the maker of OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said. Purdue Pharma L.P., its president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay $634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications, according to U.S. Attorney John Brownlee. Among other things, the settlement requires Purdue to abide by warnings on a packaging insert, stop marketing the drug for use in ways other than approved by the FDA and improve internal controls. One of those changes includes the development of an RX Patrol and its Web site. Company Offers A Reward Aaron Graham, vice president of corporate security at Purdue Pharma, said the Web site is a means to collect and analyze information about pharmacy thefts. Law enforcement and pharmacists can use the database on the Web site to see what other crimes have occurred in their area. There have been more than 3,000 incidents of pharmacy crimes, including robbery, burglary and theft, in the United States since RX Patrol started tracking them in 2003, he said. The RX Patrol also has joined with local Crimestoppers to offer rewards up to $1,000 for tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of people who rob pharmacies. Since its partnership with the local reward program in 2006, 33 people have been arrested, Graham said. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman