DON'T RESTRICT OXYCONTIN; IT GIVES PEOPLE IN PAIN THEIR LIVES BACK

Blame drug addiction, not the drug ("Hillbilly heroin," March 17). I am a
registered nurse who has seen the many benefits of the drug OxyContin. It
is no different from any other drug that people choose to abuse, except
that it can give people in chronic pain their lives back and/or make the
remaining days on earth of a terminally ill patient pain-free and alert ones.

Because OxyContin's pain-controlling effects are timed released, people who
need this medication, and use it as it was intended to be used, are able to
have near normal functioning lives rather than merely exist in an
oversedated state. As a patient advocate, I am greatly concerned that
OxyContin is being unduly singled out for prescriptive restriction and
legislative control. If you feel as I do, please see that your opinion is
voiced to our medical community and legislature.

Peggy A. Hempelmann, RN, BSN, LNCC

Anchorage