Pubdate: Sat, 08 Nov 2008
Source: Morganton News Herald, The (NC)
Copyright: 2008 Media General Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/156UTORh
Website: http://www.morganton.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1623
Author: Sharon McBrayer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

MOTHER WANTS TO HELP OTHERS WITH SUPPORT GROUP

(Part one of two) MORGANTON -- Pamela Logsdon watched her son 
struggle with addiction to narcotics, including prescription drugs.

Prescription painkillers are legal narcotics, but addicts, such as 
Brandon Pritchard, buy them on the streets.

Logsdon said he couldn't fight his addiction alone. She said Brandon 
tried to get professional help, but didn't have health insurance so 
he was referred to a methadone clinic. The problem was, he also was 
abusing methadone. Logsdon lost her only son, Brandon Keith 
Pritchard, 26, to an overdose of OxyContin, a powerful painkiller, in July.

Now she wants to channel her pain from the loss to help others who 
have lost a loved one to prescription painkillers. Logsdon is 
planning a support group called P.A.I.N. -- Parents Against Illegal 
Narcotics. The name of the support group not only represents the pain 
of losing a child, but the pain Pritchard was in due to his 
addiction, Logsdon said. Her son's life ended after he bought $40 of 
prescription painkillers off the street. He died on a friend's sofa.

Pritchard left behind his parents and a 3-year-old daughter, 
Mickenize. Logsdon thinks about the life he could have had if he 
could only have gotten help. She hopes to start the support-group 
meetings once a month on Mondays starting in January at her church, 
Heritage Baptist Church on Parker Road in Morganton. Right now she 
distributing ribbons with the support group's logo and giving the 
proceeds from donations to the church. Logsdon says the ribbons 
represent the lives lost due to drugs.

The ribbons can be picked up at Hillbilly Grocery on Conley Road in 
Morganton, at Creekside Finance offices in Morganton and Lenoir, at 
Foothills Thrift Stores in Valdese and Hildebran and at Giovanni's 
Pizza in Valdese. The price "is just whatever they want to give for 
them," Logsdon said. She also has set up a MySpace page for the 
support group and in memory of her son. It's at www.myspace.com/pain81_2008.

Logsdon said she decided to start the support group to help ease her 
pain and because of all the people she's met since her son died who 
also have lost loved ones to an overdose.

"I'm hoping the pain will be a little less if we can get together and 
talk about it," Logsdon said. "I feel like the Lord told me to do 
this." To find out more about the support group, call Logsdon at 
874-3936. Tomorrow: How prescription pharmaceuticals can kill drug abusers.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom