Word: oxycontin
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...OXYCONTIN...
...seemed like the perfect drug, a time-released synthetic opiate that killed pain without making users high. But soon after OxyContin hit the market, sales became suspiciously brisk. Drug abusers had discovered that they could get a heroin-like buzz by crushing the pills before they took them. Almost overnight, OxyContin became the drug of choice on city streets and in the suburbs; it has now been linked to 300 deaths. As the drug skates between success and excess, the manufacturer has come under increased scrutiny for its aggressive marketing campaign...
...treatment options. But, as doctors will tell you, they are a double-edged sword because they drive up demand for drugs. And that's particularly dicey in the case of drugs like those used for ADHD, which the DEA puts in the same category with morphine, cocaine, Demerol and Oxycontin...
...physician, I did not think your article about OxyContin, our company's drug that is prescribed as a pain killer, adequately distinguished between the dangers of abusing pain medications and the benefits of them when taken under appropriate supervision [DRUGS, Jan. 8]. Because of OxyContin's time-release formulation, patients with pain who take the drug do not experience the heroin-like euphoria you mentioned. Wrong perceptions about addiction--and mislabeling legitimate patients as abusers--can result in the unnecessary withholding of opioid medications from patients in need. You stated that Purdue Pharma is facing pressure from prosecutors to minimize...
Your article did a disservice to the many pain patients taking OxyContin. The problems of drug addiction and the diversion of opioids do exist. However, they should not prevent physicians from prescribing medications such as OxyContin to the 99% of legitimate pain patients who need it. The solution to the problem of illicit use is improved dialogue among doctors, politicians, and state and federal regulators to educate all in the proper use of pain medications. HOWARD A. HEIT, M.D. McLean...