OXYCONTIN IS THE NEW DRUG OF CHOICE

OxyContin, the leading treatment for chronic pain, is now in demand on
the streets and its growing popularity has named it number one to drug
addicts above crack cocaine and marijuana.

The popular tiny pill sells on the street for $20 to $80 depending on
the dosage and offers a high that's as impairing as that of heroin.
Users chew or smash the pill to remove the time-released coating, then
snort, chew and swallow or inject the remains getting what users call
a "rush."

OxyContin is compared to morphine by physicians and its regularly
prescribed for sufferers of chronic pain. A person dying of cancer
would be someone who should be prescribed the drug, according to physicians.

It was introduced in 1995 as an "miracle drug" because the time
released coating allowed measured doses of the opiate OxyContin to be
released into the blood stream alleviating pain for suffers.

And last year the Wall Street Journal reported that sales of the drug
had increased 95 percent in one year, generating $600 million in sales
for Purdue Pharma, the drug's manufacturer.

Sgt. Dale Gregoritch of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Drug
Law Enforcement at the Greensburg barracks said that he's seen an
increasing number of users of OxyContin.

"It's (the use of the pills) increased significantly over the past
couple of years and we've seized more of the drug than we ever have
before," he explained.

Gregoritch said he and his drug task force work in 15 cities
throughout Pennsylvania and added that like any drug, the preference
on the street varies from city to city.

"It's just a regular abuse of drugs. And people see that they can make
money with them, so they go to the doctors and say they are suffering
with pain and before you know, it's sold in the streets," he said.

Danielle, a pharmacist who asked to remain anonymous due to an
employer/employee contract, explained the physical damage that occurs
when people abuse OxyContin.

"It's very addictive and can cause major liver damage and long-term
damage to the central nervous system," she explained.

She said that signs of physical addiction are mood swings,
hallucinations, shaky hands and night sweats. "And they might be
delusional," she said.

Furthermore she explained that breaking away from the drug could be
dangerous. "They should definitely obtain professional help if they
want to get off of the drug. It's not something that should not be
tried alone. Withdrawal from this can be very dangerous, even deadly,"
she said.

Roz Steratore-Sugarmann, director of Addiction Specialists Inc., a
methadone clinic in Uniontown, confirmed that the majority of the
patients they treat for drug problems are addicts of OxyContin.

"We have more than 200 patients and well over half said that OxyContin
is their drug of choice," she said.

"OxyContin is a very, very serious problem in the streets. That's what
they all want," said Steratore-Sugarmann.

She explained that OxyContin is more powerful than heroin and that
users feel good all the time when they take it. "It has a numbing
effect. The user feels very comfortable. It's an abnormal state to
feel comfortable all the time and that's how they feel. But that's not
the worst part of the problem for them. The problem is when they run
out ... when they can't take it. They function well until they don't
have it."

Steretore-Sugarmann attributed the problem to physicians who prescribe
the narcotic.

"They just write it (prescriptions for OxyContin) like they have no
control over their hand," she said. "Eventually they'll get caught. I
think the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) is working overtime to get
control on it."

Ecstasy, referred to as "E" by users, is yet another drug that's
growing in popularity. Gregoritch referred to "E" as a "rave drug."

He said that the younger generation is the group that mostly uses the
drug. "Abuse of Ecstasy has increased in the last two to three years."

What Ecstasy actually is comprised of is a controversial issue, with
many different opinions on the subject.

Ecstasy is an illegal substance and the manufacturing of the drug
isn't regulated according to pharmacists. And the only way to find
what the pill consists of is to have it tested in a laboratory,
physicians say.

Users say that the pill offers a "happy state of mind" and added that
it lowers their inhibitions. But sometimes it may have an adverse
effect. "Sometimes it can bring up feelings that you may not want to
face," explained a user.

Both OxyContin and "E" are drugs that most people say they can access
quite easily.

While most drug enforcement agencies don't dwell on capturing what
they call "the small market" of pill users on the streets, they fail
to realize that the market for pills is just as large, if not larger
than the market for crack cocaine, marijuana and heroin, according to
Steratore-Sugarmann. And she added that it's taking control of and the
lives of many people in our area.

Additionally it's costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars
that could be put to better use than the rehabilitation of drug
addicts, according to David McAdoo, executive director of Fayette
County Drug and Alcohol Commission.

McAdoo said "It's really costing the taxpayers."

According to McAdoo the bill for treating addicts of OxyContin this
year is estimated between $500,000 to $600,000.

"That's to provide treatment for Fayette County residents for
OxyContin alone," he said.

McAdoo said that alarmingly, OxyContin came on fast and took over the
streets.

"When crack cocaine was the drug of preference, it came on slow, but
this drug, it was fast," said McAdoo.

McAdoo added that only about 10 percent of the addicts are enrolled in
a treatment program and said that the majority of the users think they
don't have a problem.

"Our responsibility is to deal with major drug dealers. We try to go
up the food chain. That way we can back-track where the drugs and
supplies are coming from," said Gregoritch.