THE NEXT PUBLIC MENACE

People bent on artificial escapes from reality seem to have an endless
ability to find new means. No sooner does the community familiarize itself
with "ecstasy" than a new menace from a drug known as "OxyContin," or
"hillbilly heroin," comes to town.

And, like the many other illegal drugs circulating underground, this one
can cause a lot of harm, even death.

In parts of the Midwest, abuse of this drug is increasing at what experts
say are unprecedented levels. Here in Utah, a 19-year-old Orem man recently
died from the drug, and law-enforcement officials say people should brace
for more. When abused, this drug is as addictive as heroin. In fact, the
popular wisdom is that users would fight through bags of heroin to get to
the stuff.

Clearly, parents, spouses - and virtually everyone else in society -
shouldn't be complacent and think they understand all the drug-abuse
dangers that lurk in modern society. They need to familiarize themselves
with everything on the streets and insist that law enforcement has the
tools to deal with the problems. That is especially true with this one.

Why? Because its users become so desperate for the drug they will
burglarize, steal, even kill to obtain it. And because OxyContin is a
prescription drug that can be used legally by cancer patients and others
who are in great pain. In a recent feature story in the Cincinnati
Enquirer, a woman who uses the drug through a legal prescription wisely
declined to give her last name. She knew that abusers would seek her out
and burglarize her home if they thought they could get to the pills.

Like many new drugs, OxyContin serves a useful purpose. In pill form, it
releases a controlled dose of effective pain relief that allows people with
injuries, serious diseases or other chronic ailments to function normally.
But abusers will crush the pills and find ways to circumvent the
time-release benefits so that an entire 12-hour dose enters their
bloodstream at once.

Last year alone, 19 people died from overdoses in Pike County, Ky., alone.
Multiple deaths were reported in many other counties, as well. Now, as this
newspaper reported recently, Utah has seen the beginning of the problem.

In many ways, ecstasy is easier to deal with than OxyContin. The people who
use ecstasy are fairly easy to track. They tend to be young adults who
attend underground parties known as "raves." OxyContin abusers, on the
other hand, can be young or old, rich or poor. The only thing they have in
common is a desperate need for more of the drug and a desire to avoid a
withdrawal that some have described as the worst flu ever.

Utah fell behind the curve when the methamphetamine craze hit. The Wasatch
Front became one of the nation's leaders in meth labs per capita. Law
enforcement can't afford to fall behind on this one. For that not to
happen, they will need the help of everyone.