OXY

The Issue: Manufacturer Must Do More To Help Curtail Abuse Of Drug.

It's a relatively new drug. But even in a short span it's hard to miss
the ravages of OxyContin abuse.

West Virginia hasn't missed it.

Attorney General Darrell McGraw on Monday filed a lawsuit against the
makers of the painkiller, charging they aggressively try to get doctors
to overprescribe the drug while failing to warn of its potential for
abuse.

OxyContin, which was approved by the Federal Drug Administration in
1995, is prescribed as a strong painkiller for terminal cancer patients
and others with chronic pain. If taken properly, the active ingredient
in the drug is released slowly into the system.

Abusers circumvent the time-release by crushing the pills and snorting
or injecting the powder to get the same kind of euphoric high that
heroin brings.

The early results: 120 deaths have been linked to OxyContin overdoses.

McGraw's suit charges that Perdue Pharma, the primary manufacturer, and
its associated companies used "highly coercive and inappropriate tactics
to get doctors and pharmacists to prescribe and fill prescriptions for
the drug often when it's not called for."

The lawsuit accuses the companies of courting physicians to attend "pain
management" seminars sponsored across the country, seminars at which the
drug was marketed as a safe and effective way to treat all manner of
pain, even minor pain.

Perdue Pharma is a business, of course, and it has every right to
develop marketing strategies to its clients. The problem comes when a
drug manufacturer turns a blind eye to serious abuse of its product.

We know OxyContin is a blessing for cancer patients and those who suffer
chronic pain. We also know there will always be drug abusers, no matter
the warning.

We're not in the habit of advocating lawsuits against companies when
much of the blame must be shouldered by those who voluntarily abuse
drugs. We do support this suit, however, to the extent that it forces
Perdue to take this epidemic seriously -and do everything within its
power to curtail it.

Prior to the filing of McGraw's suit, the only preventive action taken
by Perdue was to stop shipment of its highest dosage pill, help pay for
a federal pilot program to track narcotics prescriptions and provide
tamper-resistant prescription pads in some states.

That's not nearly enough.