DRUG TASK FORCE URGES ACCESS TO ADDICTS' FILES

ST. JOHN'S--Police should have access to the confidential health
information of drug addicts suspected of illegally obtaining prescription
drugs, says a Newfoundland task force on the abuse of the powerful
painkiller OxyContin.

In a report released in St. John's yesterday, the task force recommended
the provincial cabinet authorize health officials to release to police
information on individuals suspected of criminal activity to feed their
drug habit.

"Currently the police are limited in their ability to initiate
investigations and access information," said Newfoundland Justice Minister
Tom Marshall.

If approved, the unusual move would allow health officials to release
information only if there is evidence of criminal activity, Marshall said.

The Newfoundland government will consider the recommendation this fall,
Health Minister Elizabeth Marshall said. "There's a concern with respect to
people's right to privacy and we're trying to balance that against the
public good."

The task force was appointed last December in response to public concern
about OxyContin abuse. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has blamed the
drug for a 100 per cent jump in the number of armed robberies and
increasing violence in the capital city.

Among its 50 recommendations, the report suggested the province and Health
Canada should develop criteria for revoking licences of physicians who fail
to meet standards and set up a formal reporting and auditing system for all
narcotics.

"Health Canada makes the decisions about what drugs are available in this
country," said Beverley Clarke, chair of the task force.

"So they have the ultimate responsibility for a drug like OxyContin being
available."

Earlier this year, Health Canada asked for sales information relating to
oxycodone-based prescription drugs sold at Atlantic Canada's 647 pharmacies.

Dubbed "hillbilly heroin" for its popularity in rural areas with lesser
access to street drugs, OxyContin was introduced in Canada and the United
States in the mid-1990s as a pain reliever for rheumatoid arthritis and
cancer. It is now the Number 1 painkiller prescribed by doctors.