ACCIDENTAL ADDICTION CAN BE OVERSTATED

IN AN otherwise laudable editorial on the sad plight of Richard Paey,
the Globe reported Middlesex County District Attorney Martha Coakley
as having said that there is a problem of prescription drug users
becoming addicted to substances like OxyContin.

This is a common and unfortunate misconception. The medical
literature overwhelmingly shows that so-called accidental addiction
is rare. For example, Dr. Russell Portenoy of Beth Israel Medical
Center in New York found that of 25,000 cancer patients being treated
with opiate therapy, just seven became addicted. Obviously, one
wouldn't expect a district attorney to be up on all the medical
literature. But the fact that we don't expect such knowledge from our
law-enforcement officials is a pretty convincing argument against
letting police and prosecutors determine what is and isn't acceptable
medical treatment.

RADLEY BALKO

Policy analyst, Cato Institute

Washington