PAINKILLER HOOKING WOMEN

Record numbers of women are getting into legal trouble because of their
dependency on prescription painkillers -- pills at least one addiction
counsellor says are "way over-prescribed" in Windsor.

Drugs such as the highly addictive OxyContin, which contains the opiate
oxycodone, are commonly prescribed for gynecological problems, helping
explain why women appear to be getting hooked at a greater rate than men.
The drug can be prescribed for any moderate to severe pain.

"I can't believe the number of women I'm seeing with serious narcotic
problems, especially those using OxyContin and other drugs with oxycodone,"
said lawyer Laura Joy. "These are very good women who are great mothers and
wives but they get dependent on that drug. It's just so addictive and when
they can't get the pills they go to get them on the street."

Joy said some weeks she sees three to four women appearing before the courts
for drug-related offences, a 50-per-cent increase in the past two years.

"I've never seen the numbers this high. Many of the women are losing their
jobs, their children and their marriages. What's going on in Windsor is
terrible. These women are getting caught in a dependence web on oxy,
dilaudid and crack cocaine, but oxy is the worst."

A 36-year-old woman recovering from an oxy addiction agrees. Bailey, who did
not want her last name used, said the Children's Aid Society took away her
school-aged son because of her addiction to OxyContin.

"I took it for menstrual pains and it just gets you immediately. It takes
away your pain and makes you feel wonderful," said Bailey.

"When you don't take it your whole body hurts. I started out with Percocet,
the way many women do, and the problem is you begin to need more and more of
it. Then you move to OxyContin, then to Dilaudid and morphine."

Bailey struggled to get off oxy, relapsing twice before she could get a
handle on her habit. Going cold turkey, she said, is difficult but she
didn't have a choice.

GOING COLD TURKEY

"In order to get my child back I have to comply with rules from the CAS. I
can only take over-the-counter ibuprofen for any pain, nothing else, and I
can't drink alcohol. The CAS gives you no room for relapse," said Bailey.
"I'm just lucky I'm able to go cold turkey, because many women can't. I go
to four or five meetings per week and I work very hard at getting clean
because it's so easy to get back into it."

Drug addiction counsellors say they are seeing an increase in the numbers of
women in treatment and counselling.

"We definitely are seeing an increase in the number of women addicted to
oxycodone, particularly Percocet," said Darlene Simpson, program director at
the House of Sophrosyne, a treatment and resource centre for alcohol and
drug-addicted women in Windsor.

"Those drugs are way over-prescribed and we're finding those women very
difficult to treat. They are so addicting that women getting detoxed should
be under the supervision of a doctor."

The House of Sophrosyne treats 200 women per year in its residential program
and of those, 40 per cent are treated for prescription drug abuse, which
includes 15 per cent addicted to opiates like oxy. Simpson said another 687
women are treated in out-patient programs.

Simpson said where detoxing from alcohol might take three to five days, it
takes "much, much longer" when dealing with oxy. She also said the wait for
treatment can be as long as six weeks.

Joy said there's an urgent need for more services for women, particularly
timely, anonymous treatment.

"It must be anonymous because now when they seek help their records can be
used against them, so they go underground," said Joy. "They are at their
lowest. They're fighting a horrible addiction, many have lost their jobs and
have no money and in extreme cases the women sell their bodies on the
street."