OXYCONTIN ABUSE IS ON THE RISE IN AREA

Abuse of the prescription drug OxyContin and its generic versions is on the
rise in Cabarrus and Rowan counties and has claimed 10 lives in the two
counties in the past two years.

Five deaths in Cabarrus and five in Rowan have been linked to abuse of
OxyContin since April 2000, mostly because of overdoses, but sometimes in
combination with other drugs.

Dealers and abusers can be found in high schools, nursing homes and
everywhere in between, authorities say.

Local law enforcement officials and pharmacists say they are taking extra
steps to prevent abuse of the drug. But some worry that being too cautious
about prescribing and dispensing the drug will keep people in extreme pain
from getting the medication they need.

OxyContin is a time-release painkiller derived from opium and can be
addictive. It comes in pills of varying strengths. Abusers have found that
grinding up the pill and ingesting it leads to a heroin-like high. As time
goes on, authorities say, more and more people are getting hooked.

"It's probably one of the biggest things we do," said Cabarrus County
Sheriff Brad Riley.

The extent of the problem

Riley said local authorities have seen an increase in abuse of OxyContin
and other prescription drugs in the past few years, although he didn't have
specific numbers. The increase, Riley said, may result partly from the
increased national security efforts since Sept. 11, which have cut down on
the amount of illegal drugs imported into the country.

"A lot more domestic drugs are surfacing," he said.

A lot of suspected abusers and dealers of the drug have prescriptions for
it (which they may obtain illegitimately), so it's difficult to prove they
aren't legitimate, said Detective Tim Parker with the Cabarrus County
Sheriff's Office.

OxyContin abuse is widespread in Rowan County as well, said Detective Chad
Moose, who works for the Sheriff's Office drug unit in that county.

"We'll go to a crime scene and find a white powder," he said. "Usually, in
the past, it was cocaine, but more and more it's (ground-up) OxyContin."

Moose said many people believe prescription drugs such as OxyContin
wouldn't be legal if they were as dangerous as illicit drugs such as heroin
and cocaine -- a potentially deadly misconception.

Crossing the barriers

OxyContin abuse isn't limited to any one identifiable group of people,
authorities agree. All kinds of people abuse the drug.

"Dealers are usually selling out of a house," Moose said. "We've gotten
dealers that were everything from elderly people to kids in school. Usually
they're selling so they can get more pills."

People get the drug in a variety of ways, police say.

Sometimes, a person will steal pills from a family member who is
legitimately using them to combat chronic pain.

Other people "doctor-shop" -- they go to a series of physicians, getting
prescriptions for the same drug from each. They may go to an emergency room
and ask for OxyContin.

"Most times, the drugs that the (emergency room) provides will not be
enough, but the user will add a zero to the number (of pills on the
prescription)," Moose said.

Sometimes, a patient with a legitimate prescription will sell some of the
pills to a drug dealer and decide to simply endure the pain.

"Some people put a higher price on money" than on pain relief, Riley said.

Fighting back

To fight abuse, officers say, they depend on tips from people close to the
abusers.Moose said concerned family members and friends sometimes let
authorities know if someone has been taking a lot of pills.

Sometimes, police will get a search warrant for someone who is dealing
other drugs, and find OxyContin, too, he said.

Some abusers go from one pharmacy to the next, buying the drug with stolen
or forged prescriptions, Riley said. That means law enforcement agencies
often must cooperate across county and sometimes state lines.

Although pharmacies should be wary, OxyContin is an essential pain
management tool, said Hearn Rickard, a pharmacist at Martin's Drug Store on
the Rowan County side of Kannapolis.

"There are a good many people (who) have chronic pain or have chronic
problems that need treatment," Rickard said.

Rickard said Martin's is a smaller drug store where the pharmacists know
most customers: "It's the person that comes in from out of town that we
worry about."

The store uses several procedures to verify whether a prescription is
valid, but it's difficult to make certain and usually involves a judgment call.

"We usually call the doctor and make sure that the prescription is
legitimate. We also ask for proof of identification, like a driver's
license. Sometimes we just turn the person down if we can't confirm the
prescription."

"Those two things are pretty much standard in the pharmacy industry,"
Rickard said. "But it's tough to say that it's airtight."

Moose Pharmacy has stores in Concord, Mount Pleasant and Midland. Co-owner
and pharmacist Joe Moose said doctors and pharmacists are using advanced
methods to stop potential prescription drug abusers and dealers.

Some physicians use numbered forms or security blanks when writing
prescriptions for controlled substances. Others use them for all prescriptions.

By law, when a pharmacist orders pills for controlled substances from a
wholesale distributor, a copy of the order goes to the Food and Drug
Administration.

"Every pill is accounted for," Joe Moose said.

But he said the best defense is for a pharmacist to be wary.

It's hard to check for identification, Joe Moose said, because a person who
needs a drug as powerful as OxyContin might be in too much pain to come to
the pharmacy himself. So they send someone else with the prescription, and
identification doesn't always help determine whether that person is getting
the prescription filled legitimately.

"You are at a heightened sense that it is a high drug for abuse potential,"
Joe Moose said. "You use your professional judgment on whether the
prescription looks valid or not."