FIX DRUG TO KILL ONLY PAIN

OxyContin is a painkiller that has been a godsend to people suffering with
chronic pain. It also killed 21-year-old Brandon Bowers and seven others in
southwest Missouri.

The medication was prescribed for Bowers' back pain. But he found what
others looking for an amazing high have discovered - and soon became addicted.

When the drug is taken whole, as directed, it supplies a steady dose of
pain-numbing medicine. When it is crushed, then snorted or injected, it can
pump a 12-hour dose into 20 minutes.

The consequent high is one of intense euphoria and excitation. Mark Beas,
director of Cox's Center of Addictions, says it's like an "orgasmic-type of
feeling across the whole body."

With a rush like that, the drug is catching on as the narcotic of choice
for addicts and a new challenge for law enforcement. Police must try to
find ways to keep a legal drug from being illegally trafficked and abused.

Like other legitimate painkillers turned into illicit drugs, OxyContin
already has a new name on the street: hillbilly heroin. The Drug
Enforcement Agency has begun tracking abuse of the drug, and its
manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, and the Federal Drug Administration have come
together to find ways to make medicine safer.

One approach the company is trying is the reformulation of the drug so it
would not be effective if injected. So far, neither the FDA nor Purdue
Pharma is considering pulling OxyContin from the market. If things get
worse, the government says that position may have to be reconsidered.

Banning the drug would be going too far. While concern about its abuse is
real, so is the benefit it can bring to suffering people, particularly
those nearing the end of their lives.

Jan Badgett with Community Hospices of America-Southwest Missouri says that
the drug would be sorely missed by those in her industry because of its
effective pain management. OxyContin relieves suffering and improves the
quality of life of terminal patients.

Cindy Williams, also with the hospice, acknowledges OxyContin patients do
build up a tolerance to the drug and some become addicted. Still, on
balance, a regulated addiction is far preferable to unbearable, constant
pain. "Any time you have pain, you have a side effect of addiction. We deal
with that," Williams says.

To take away such an effective drug would be reactionary and inhumane. But
greater care can and should be required for how the drug is dispensed.

After the death of the her son, Brandon Bower's mother Elaine is left with
some troubling questions. While she can see the need for OxyContin to treat
terminally ill patients, she can't understand why a doctor would prescribe
the drug to a 21-year-old with a history of addiction.

"Why did he give him that drug?" she rightfully wonders.

To keep the drug available to those who need it and out of the hands of
criminals is a difficult, if not impossible task. Yet, steps can be taken
to ensure the proper use of OxyContin is not eclipsed by deadly misuse.

Doctors, on the front line of diagnosis and treatment, must exercise
caution in dispensing the drug. Prescriptions should be given only
judiciously in extreme cases. The drug's side effects and potential for
addiction should be emphasized.

Patients should be told, "Take this as directed or it could kill you."