OXYCONTIN HABIT CREEPS UP ON ABUSERS

Jerry's back pain had become too much. Suffering daily from the aftermath
of a car crash, the 21-year-old Evansville man was willing to try almost
anything to regain comfort. When two of his relatives - both of them cancer
patients - were prescribed a powerful painkilling narcotic called
OxyContin, Jerry decided to try it, even though he didn't have a prescription.

Jerry introduced himself to OxyContin slowly, taking only a piece of one
pill. Then, later, he ingested another piece of the same pill.

"I could make a whole one last all day," Jerry said.

Before Jerry knew it, he was hooked.

"It got to where I would inject it after a certain period of time," said
Jerry (not his real name). "Over a year's time, it turned into a serious
problem."

Jerry is in treatment now, fighting what has evolved into a gripping,
life-altering addiction.

"People don't know what it'll lead to," Jerry said of OxyContin abuse.

OxyContin is an FDA-approved medication used by patients with terminal
illnesses and other painful medical conditions. But illegal use of it has
become an epidemic in many areas of the country, most notably in
Appalachia, where it's been dubbed "hillbilly heroin."

The drug has been linked to more than 120 overdose deaths nationwide. Many
of those deaths have been reported in the mountains of Appalachia.

A physician from Bland County, Va., is facing 298 federal charges of
prescribing painkilling medications with no legitimate purpose. Most of the
charges he faces involve OxyContin.

The physician's trial will continue this week, and he faces hundreds of
years in prison if convicted.

In eastern Kentucky, 200 alleged OxyContin dealers were arrested in a
February sweep by police. A former state government employee from Evarts,
Ky., and her husband were arrested Friday after shipments of OxyContin were
intercepted by authorities.

Evansville area law enforcement agencies say they have seen little illegal
street trade in OxyContin. They say local OxyContin dealing pales in
comparison to methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.

But counselors in Evansville said local abuse of OxyContin is increasing.
They say Jerry's case is fairly typical.

"It's by no means foreign to us," said Dr. Jim Mackey, a counselor at the
Mulberry Center.

"It's out there, alive and well," said Martin Graham, a counselor at the
Drug and Alcohol Referral Service. "The only thing is, it's a little more
controlled. It's not as accessible on the street" as other substances.

While arrests related to OxyContin have been rare, the drug is starting to
show up occasionally in police reports.

Evansville police arrested a man June 17 who allegedly robbed the CVS
Pharmacy at 2020 E. Morgan Ave. and demanded OxyContin.

After he was taken into custody, the man told police he wanted the drug for
pain, and doctors would not write him a prescription. Pharmacy robberies
have occurred frequently in areas of the country where OxyContin abuse has
reached epidemic levels.

OxyContin's active ingredient is released slowly into the body when the
drug is taken properly. Abusers, however, circumvent the time-release
capsules by crushing the pills and inhaling or injecting the powder to get
a heroinlike high.

OxyContin "has got a real fast onset" when used improperly, said Martin
Graham, a counselor with the Drug and Alcohol Referral Service in
Evansville. "Once they start using it, it progresses real quick."

Users of the drug are often female and often have a low pain threshold,
according to Graham. He said many OxyContin addicts have jobs in the
health-care industry, which enable them to easily get their hands on the drug.

Overdoses of OxyContin can come with cold and clammy skin, constricted
pupils and hypotension. The drug's effect can last several hours, and
street terms for the drug include "Ox," "Oxy" and "OC."

Graham said the typical age range of OxyContin abusers used to be 25 to 35,
but lately he's been seeing more users up to age 45.

The drug's recent trend in the area is disturbing, said Graham. "The last
couple of years it's been surfacing more often."