COMMUNITY ACTION A MUST TO FIGHT OXYCONTIN SPREAD

Deadly Dilemma

Hundreds of Eastern Kentuckians have followed a thin white line to
destruction and death with OxyContin. And Pike County from many
accounts is one of the state's hotbeds of illegal use and abuse of the
powerful painkiller, as well as the place some officials say features
the highest number of overdose deaths attached to it. Despite that
unsavory distinction, the county still appears on the outside looking
in at effective ways to combat the synthetic opiate's increasing grip
on the region's culture of illicit drug abuse.

But residents in nearby Perry County didn't take that county's
well-documented problems with the drug lying down. There, a drug
sweep in February netted the bulk of more than 200 OxyContin-related
arrests in the region. Though formed early this year, that roundup,
which revealed OxyContin's dominance in Eastern Kentucky to a largely
unknowing state and nation,gave renewed life to a citizens group in
Perry County - People Against Drugs.

Meetings of that group have since drawn in hundreds of people
from across that county seeking an active role in quashing
drug-related abuse, crimes and deaths. Through the group's recovering
addicts committee, which has opened an office in downtown Hazard
funded from private donations, addicts committed to getting clean are
matched with a Christian-based drug treatment program in Athens, W.Va.
With hopes to add more such programs to its list, the group is also
actively working to bring a treatment center to Hazard.

We in Pike County should look at those encouraging activities and be
ashamed of ourselves. As is the case with other problems in times
past, a large
portion of Pike's public seems content to quietly watch OxyContin's
deadly wrath keep spiraling to unheard-of depths without as much as
discussing how to stop it.

It's foolish, though, to assume problems with OxyContin or other
drugs can be dealt with solely at the hands of law enforcement, which
must focus on arrest and punishment rather than rehabilitation. No
matter if they're abusers with a criminal slant or patients initially
prescribed the drug for legitimate reasons, people hooked on
OxyContin need an outlet for help.

If bringing a place here dedicated to steering addicts to such help
is the aim, citizens here need to band together as their counterparts
in Perry did to make it happen. Still, someone or something here has
to take the lead in
shepherding a large-scale call-to-arms. Though it's much easier to
look away from a largely negative problem like OxyContin abuse, we're
hoping someone will have the courage and motivation to tackle the
issue head on.

But Pike Countians - as a whole - must first all agree that enough is
enough, and for once commit to working together to find
a lasting solution to OxyContin's deadly dilemma.