OXYCONTIN DRUG ABUSED BY MANY

Editor:

I am writing in response to the article by David Haddox regarding OxyContin.

OC, as it is affectionately referred to on the street, is by far the most
abused substance of clients being treated in the substance abuse treatment
center where I am employed as a nurse.

A client in his late 60s informed me that OC's "feel so good when I take
them and so terribly bad when I don't. "

I would like to challenge Dr. Haddox to survey substance abuse centers in
West Virginia and then tell us that OxyContin is a "safe" drug.

I would further challenge his employer, Purdue Pharma LP (the manufacturers
of OxyContin) to explore alternate methods of manufacturing this highly
abused drug, such as including Valoxone in their OC tablets. This drug would
negate the opiate effects of OxyContin when used intravenously, therefore
ending intravenous abuse of OC.

OxyContin is dangerously addictive. The proof is in the treatment centers.

Dr. Haddox, how can you or your employer sleep at night knowing what this
drug is doing to families everywhere? Or do you just close your eyes and see
dollar signs?

Lynda Hackman, LPN