Pubdate: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 Source: Daily Independent, The (KY) Copyright: 2001 The Daily Independent, Inc. Contact: http://www.dailyindependent.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1573 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?186 (Oxycontin) CURBING ABUSE Panel Does Not Limit Recommendations To Just The Problem Of Oxycontin A state task force appointed to study the abuse of OxyContin has issued a list of recommendations that wisely include other prescription drugs classified as "controlled substances" and not just OxyContin. The goal is not to keep OxyContin and other controlled substances out of the hands of those who really need the drugs but to curb the abuse of a painkiller that has been linked to dozens of deaths in the state. More than 600 Kentuckians - including a number of physicians - have been arrested on charges of trafficking in OxyContin. The problem, however, is not limited to that one drug. "It really is a prescription drug problem, not just OxyContin," Kentucky State Police Commissioner Ishmon Burks told the General Assembly's interim Judiciary Committee. Rep. Gross Lindsay, D-Henderson, warned against singling out OxyContin, which he said his late wife used to ease her pain. "On the one hand, people need this medication in the worst sort of a way and we don't want to impede that," agreed Dr. Rice Leach, Kentucky's health commissioner. Among the task force's 31 recommendations are tighter restrictions on those who prescribe and pick up controlled substances. Prescriptions telephoned from a physician to a pharmacy would be banned for controlled substances, though not for more routine medications such as those for high blood pressure. People picking up prescriptions would have to provide photo identification to pharmacies, though third parties could still pick up medications for others. The task force also recommended restricting the authority to prescribe some medications by emergency room doctors to a three-day supply. Another recommendation by the task force would be to ensure that people who use public assistance programs to purchase drugs for abuse should be taken off assistance rolls and forced to repay the costs of improper prescriptions. The task force also recommends updating a statewide computer tracking system for prescriptions to inhibit people who go to several physicians to get multiple doses of drugs to abuse. Just how much Kentucky can do to limit the abuse of OxyContin remains to be seen. This is a national problem that demands the attention of the Food and Drug Administration and Congress. States typically have not played a major role in controlling prescription drugs. The task force's report is emphatic about the seriousness of OxyContin abuse in Kentucky: "By the fall of 2000, abuse of this drug had grown to epidemic proportions. OxyContin had become the Number One drug of choice, surpassing marijuana and cocaine." Such a serious problem demands aggressive enforcement, more public education and a combination of federal and state laws to effectively curb. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl