FIRST, DO NO HARM

Brownlee is the United States attorney for the Western District of
Virginia who prosecuted Dr. Cecil Knox.

She was a young mother and thrilled to be pregnant again. She and her
husband had two beautiful children, and now they were expecting
another baby girl. Unfortunately, this young mother had fallen on the
ice and injured her lower back -- causing her pain and discomfort.
Her obstetrician/gynecologist had prescribed a mild pain medication,
but the expectant mother found no relief. She was then referred to
Dr. Cecil Knox, a self-described "pain specialist."

According to evidence presented at his trial, Knox prescribed to this
young mother, who was now four months pregnant, 120 40 milligram
tablets of the powerful painkiller OxyContin at her initial
consultation. Two weeks later, Knox prescribed an additional 115
pills, and an additional 220 pills over the next three weeks.

Within days, the powerful opiate had taken control of her and her
unborn baby. As both mother and child craved the OxyContin, Knox was
ready and willing to keep the drug flowing -- while billing the
insurance company for each visit.

Although Knox promised her other doctors that he would "taper" her
OxyContin, Knox continued to increase this young woman's OxyContin
dosage. The week before her baby was born, Knox prescribed 450 20mg
OxyContin pills and ordered her to take 12 pills a day -- nearly a
100 percent increase from her initial prescription.

As one can imagine, the baby was born addicted to OxyContin. Dr.
Robert W. Allen, the neonatologist who took care of the baby, told
investigators that hers was "the worst drug withdrawal syndrome [he
had] experienced in over 30 years" of practicing medicine.
Fortunately, the child has fully recovered and is now a beautiful and
healthy 6-year-old girl. But, as her mother testified, the family
will always bear the physical and psychological scars caused by Knox.

On Jan. 20, Knox was sentenced for racketeering, illegal distribution
of prescription drugs, health care fraud and distribution of
marijuana to a patient. Knox admitted to illegally sharing
prescription and street drugs with patients and attempting to defraud
those who were paying for his services.

The Honorable James P. Jones stripped Knox of his medical license and
prohibited him from prescribing medications -- including OxyContin.
Knox was sentenced to five years probation and fined $5,000. The
court has assured that Knox will never again harm another patient.

Although some of the local media coverage focused on the impact of
this prosecution on the lives and fortunes of Knox, an objective and
complete summary of the case must include the voices of those
patients and family members who spoke about the years they suffered
because of excessive medication or combinations of medications
prescribed by Knox.

During the investigation, patient after patient, and family members
for those who had died, described the dehumanizing effects of drug
use at the levels and in the combinations Knox prescribed.

Finally, many of Knox's patients went on to other doctors and other
treatments after Knox was arrested, and most of those patients
testified that their quality of life dramatically improved.

One woman testified that being tapered off the very high levels of
narcotics Knox prescribed was like "waking from a dream" and allowed
her to realize and remember that she had small children who were
growing up without her. Post-Knox, she managed her discomfort with
over-the-counter medications while remaining active in her family's
life. That good news is an important part of this story.