Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2001
Source: Augusta Chronicle, The (GA)
Copyright: 2001 The Augusta Chronicle
Contact:  http://www.augustachronicle.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/31
Author: Stephen Gurr, Janis Reid (Morris News Service)
Note: Does not publishing letters from outside of the immediate Georgia and 
South Carolina circulation area.

OXYCONTIN ABUSE SPREADS INTO GEORGIA

ATHENS, Ga. - A powerful prescription pill meant to ease the suffering of 
chronic pain sufferers is fast becoming the new Quaalude - heavily abused 
and sought after by addicts. Even its deadly dangers offer a twisted 
temptation for those seeking a high akin to heroin. OxyContin - a 
6-year-old drug produced by drug maker Purdue Pharma - has begun to reach 
the wrong hands in Athens, just as it has spread as a scourge among 
blue-collar addicts throughout Appalachia and the Midwest. Abusers 
typically crush the pink pills, combine them with water and inject the 
mixture into their veins to nullify the time-release design of the drug.

''Two years ago, we would have said there was no problem,'' said Rick 
Allen, the deputy director of the Georgia Drug and Narcotics Agency, which 
regulates and enforces drug laws among physicians and pharmacies. ''Now 
it's gone totally out of sight.''

Mr. Allen estimates as many as 100 Georgians have died from ''Oxy'' 
overdoses in the past 12 months alone.

Its prevalence is approaching the epidemic levels that have crippled 
communities in Kentucky and Ohio, Mr. Allen said.

''As one old-time detective told me, 'If you haven't seen it, you haven't 
been looking for it.'''

Last week, two Athens women were jailed on charges of obtaining and 
distributing 25 OxyContin pills without a prescription, among the first 
arrests involving the drug in Clarke County.

Addiction treatment centers such as the Commencement Center at Athens 
Regional Medical Center have seen a dramatic rise in the number of 
OxyContin addicts from the Athens area.

In Athens, the ''pillhead'' drug of choice remains hydrocodone, a less 
powerful, more readily available painkiller, said Sgt. Mike Hunsinger, the 
commander of the Athens-Clarke Police Drug and Vice Unit. ''But OxyContin 
is coming on fast,'' he added.

Abuse of OxyContin sister medicine Lortab, a brand of hydrocodone, has been 
around for some time, according to Janis Marlin, a spokeswoman for 
Advantage Behavior Health Systems.

''We see Lortab all the time,'' Ms. Marlin said. ''We've only seen 
OxyContin for the last few months. We expect to see more and more of it.''

It is common for people already addicted to Lortab to take OxyContin 
simultaneously to enhance the drugs' effects, according to Commencement 
Center Director Jim Hinzman. The combination of these painkillers with 
other drugs and alcohol can be deadly, he said.

''People don't 'just drink' today,'' Dr. Hinzman said. ''But one drink or 
one pill could be your last because it can shut down your respiratory 
system.'' Other drugs use the same active ingredients, but addicts have 
discovered that the time-release design of OxyContin makes for a more 
potent pill.

''You're out of it steadily for a longer period of time,'' Sgt. Hunsinger said.

''Originally, the drug was for hospice patients and chronic-pain use, but 
the street people have found out about them,'' Mr. Allen said. And 
prescriptions have risen.

Law enforcement officials complain that too many prescriptions are being 
written for OxyContin - a drug that should be reserved for the most severe 
of pain sufferers: terminally ill cancer patients, people with chronic bone 
disorders.

''(Addicts) shop around until they find a doctor that will write a 
prescription for it,'' Mr. Allen said. ''Some doctors won't touch it with a 
10-foot pole, but others will give 100 OxyContin for a twisted toenail.''

Authorities have charged a handful of physicians in Georgia for dispensing 
OxyContin prescriptions too readily, but no pharmacists have faced charges 
- - ''yet,'' Mr. Allen said.

''It seems doctors have not been properly educated about what it really 
needs to be used for,'' Mr. Allen said. ''There are doctors everywhere 
writing prescriptions for it - and we're not really sure if they know what 
they're doing.''
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