OXYCONTIN ABUSE SOARS

CHARLOTTE (AP)- Abuse of the painkiller OxyContin may have caused or
contributed to at least 97 overdose deaths in the Carolinas in 2000 and
2001, according to a report by The Charlotte Observer.

After making its debut six years ago, the prescription narcotic has surged
in popularity in the two Southern states. Law enforcement and addiction
experts say abuse of few other prescription drugs has struck so quickly and
hurt so many.

OxyContin, dubbed Oxy or OC by addicts, is easier to get than heroin and
cheaper than cocaine.

Experts suggest abuse hit North Carolina and South Carolina largely because
addicts from some of the hardest hit states, such as West Virginia and
Kentucky, moved to the region after law enforcement there cracked down.

Also, two pain clinics in the Carolinas -- one in Grover in Cleveland
County, the other in Myrtle Beach, S.C. -- wrote unusually high numbers of
prescriptions for OxyContin and other narcotics to hundreds of people
across the region. Officials think those clinics helped fuel a thriving
OxyContin black market.

According to The Observer report in Sunday's editions, a majority of the 97
deaths were accidental overdoses, though 19 were suspected suicides. In
some cases, casual users took the drug and died hours later.

In at least an additional 104 cases, oxycodone, the main ingredient in
OxyContin, played a role in an overdose death. It was unclear whether
OxyContin or another oxycodone-based pain pill was involved.

The Carolina death count is far higher than what was reported in an April
national study, based on limited data.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration estimated that OxyContin abuse may
have contributed to 464 overdose deaths nationwide in the last two years.
But that estimate included 14 South Carolina cases and none from North
Carolina.

In some areas in the Carolinas, distribution of OxyContin is among the
nation's heaviest. DEA reports show those areas include Myrtle Beach and
Spartanburg, S.C., and a region in North Carolina that runs from Rutherford
to Cabarrus counties, including almost all of Gaston County, Concord,
Lincolnton and the area around the Grover pain clinic. Those areas are in
the top 7 percent nationally for OxyContin distribution per capita.

Introduced in 1996, OxyContin delivered pain relief more powerful and
longer-lasting than most other prescription narcotics. Law enforcement and
the medical community have faced a challenge of cracking down on abuse of
OxyContin without limiting supply of the drug to people who need it.

"We kind of walk a tightrope here," says Richard Seidel, Drug Enforcement
Administration deputy chief of drug operations. "No one is saying OxyContin
is a bad drug. It's a bad drug when it's abused."

At least nine doctors in two pain clinics have faced accusations of
inappropriately prescribing OxyContin and other narcotic painkillers.

In North Carolina's most high-profile case, Dr. Joseph Talley of Grover has
been linked to the deaths of 23 patients who overdosed on OxyContin or
other narcotics he prescribed.

Some pharmacists and law enforcers believe OxyContin's manufacturer,
Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, may have contributed to the problem by
overpromoting the drug for widespread use despite reports of crime and abuse.

Purdue officials say they have responsibly marketed their product according
to its approved use by the Food and Drug Administration, and that they do
not have regulatory or law enforcement authority over how physicians use
medications.

By all accounts, OxyContin is safe when taken as prescribed, though there's
a risk of addiction when taking any narcotic painkiller.