DOCTORS MEET ON ILLEGAL DRUGS

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Doctors and drug investigators, seeking a balance
between helping patients and preventing abuse, gathered Monday to try to
halt the growing illegal distribution of the painkiller OxyContin.

Drug manufacturers said they want to increase awareness about the dangers
of the pill, also known by its generic name, oxycodone. The prescription
pill, developed to treat chronic pain in cancer patients and those with
arthritis and back pain, has grown in popularity among drug abusers.

"We want to make sure that OxyContin and other strong medications remain
available to the patients with legitimate needs," said Dr. J. David Haddox,
senior medical director of Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin tablets.

"And we want to make sure that law enforcement cooperates with the medical
community and the public ... to make sure these drugs stay out of the hands
of criminals and people who don't need them."

When used properly, oxycodone is released slowly into the system. But
abusers of the drug grind tablets into powder and snort or inject the drug
to produce feelings of euphoria.

Florida medical examiners reported that overdoses of the painkiller killed
152 people statewide during the final six months of 2000, more than any
other drug.

Overdoses have also been rising in other states; the drug has been linked
to at least 59 deaths in Kentucky's mountain region and 42 deaths in
Virginia since 1998.

To help curb abuse, Purdue Pharma has mailed thousands of educational
brochures to doctors and pharmacists and is distributing special
prescription pads to doctors, making it more difficult to forge prescriptions.

Haddox said the recent focus on OxyContin has caused some doctors to become
leery of prescribing it even to patients who need it.

"I spoke to a patient the other day whose doctor is no longer prescribing
this for him, and he has to drive 100 miles round trip to a pain clinic
that will prescribe it for him," Haddox said. "He never abused the
medicine. Why should he be punished for that?"

Investigators say the drug is often stolen from pharmacies, obtained from
forged prescriptions or wrongly prescribed by a doctor. OxyContin has a
street value of about $40 for a 40-milligram tablet, said Charles Chichon,
president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators.