ABUSE OF DEADLY PRESCRIPTION DRUG ON THE RISE IN THE AREA

Area law enforcement and medical experts say OxyContin is making its
presence felt in the North Central region.

"It's definitely the drug of choice," said John Walker, Clarksburg police
chief.

"People are obtaining it legally, but they're selling it on the streets."

Walker said local access to the prescription drug -- used by cancer
patients and others with severe pain -- still seems to be fairly easy. That
makes enforcement difficult.

While he could not release information about how the city's drug task force
is pursuing illegal dealers and users, he said, "It's one of the main
priorities. It's just something they're dealing with constantly."

Smaller population areas report similar experiences.

Jeff Craig, a Buckhannon patrolman, said that department has become
increasingly aware of the arrival of oxycodone, OxyContin's generic name.

"We've had several complaints, but not any overdoses yet," Craig said.

His impression is that abuse is mostly limited to individual prescriptions
rather than street sales at the moment. But the force is concerned about
the future because of oxycodone's potency and similarity to heroin.

"I talked to one of our (drug) informants the other day and he's struggling
with several addictions," Craig said. "He said that OxyContin is better
than the best heroin he's ever had."

Deputy Jeffrey Chumley, however, said oxycodone does not seem to be in
ultra-rural Doddridge County in any notable quantities. He said drug use
there tends to focus on marijuana.

"About two weeks ago we got 138 plants," Chumley said.

Tracking the trend

Since 1999, all of West Virginia's city, county and state crime statistics
-- including narcotics cases -- have been compiled and tracked through the
state police.

The information is submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
further analysis.

"Since we're so early in it, we can't really detect trends. We're just
setting the base," said 1st Sgt. Gayle Midkiff, uniformed crime reporting
officer for the state police.

"We hope to use it to plan for the future eventually."

The first two years of data, however, do indicate a slight increase in
prescription drug abuse since 1999. Midkiff said OxyContin is in that
category, as are such drugs as Percodan and Methadone.

In 1999, 127 cases involved prescription drug abuse. That was 4 percent of
all drug cases. In 2000, the most recent year available, the rate climbed
to 5 percent, Midkiff said.

The state is now tracking deaths related to oxycodone, as well.

Dr. Henry Taylor, public health commissioner, said there were 20 oxycodone
deaths in 2000. Some of the cases additionally involved other drugs and
alcohol.

Medical Impact

Such abuse of legal drugs is especially frustrating to the medical
community, according to Dr. Mark Povroznik, assistant director for clinical
pharmacy at United Hospital Center in Clarksburg.

"It makes the medical staff nervous at times when they're trying to
appropriately treat pain," Povroznik said. "If you've been burned by the
previous couple of patients who have faked pain pretty well, you're less
likely to treat real pain in the next person."

That trend concerns Public Health Commissioner Taylor, who worries
patients' pain is not being addressed.

"There's definitely an abuse problem," Taylor said of oxycodone. "There's
also a problem with underuse."

Taylor said the state's four medical boards issued joint pain-management
guidelines this spring because of the latter concern. The guidelines
include information on screening patients for misuse and addiction, he said.

The state Legislature also voted this year to require continuing
pain-management education for certain medical staff, he said.

On the patient side of oxycodone use, Povroznik issued a warning to people
who use the drug and other similar pain relievers legally.

"We've always said keep out of reach of children, but even older children
may be seeking these drugs out. Keep them out of sight."

And that's not just a rule for oxycodone.

He said old drugs of all kinds or used skin patches, which may still
contain medicine, should be flushed down the toilet.

He has noted a slight increase in abusive use of other prescription drugs
such as Ritalin, used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder,
and Fentanyl, a pain-relieving skin patch.