OXYCONTIN ABUSE GETS LOOK FROM LEGISLATURE

Legislators began looking Tuesday at ways to stem abuse of the prescription
narcotic Oxycontin, following a state report that at least 69 Louisiana
residents have died during the past two years in connection with the
painkiller.

Doctors prescribe OxyContin to treat severe pain for patients who suffer
from medical problems such as cancer.

When crushed and snorted or mixed with water and injected by drug abusers,
the potent medication can have effects similar to heroin.

Louisiana coroners connected the medication to 69 deaths in 16 parishes in
the last two years, according to Louis Cataldie, medical director for the
state Office for Addictive Disorders.

The state ranks 28th in the nation in OxyContin prescriptions.

Sen. Jerry Thomas, R-Franklinton, said he plans to introduce bills to
address the abuse.

He said it could include requiring doctors to use tamper-resistant
prescription pads, providing continuing education to pharmacists and
requiring prescription monitoring and accountability.

The upcoming legislative session can only deal with fiscal matters, however.

"We certainly don't want to limit access to new medications or better
medications," Thomas told the House and Senate health and welfare committees.

The drug has drawn national attention, with the Drug Enforcement
Administration blaming OxyContin for 117 deaths in the past two years and
suspecting it caused another 179.

There's a street market for the painkiller that boosts the problem,
Cataldie said.

An OxyContin tablet costs only a few dollars, but the drug sells on the
street for $20 to $40 a pill.