OFFICIALS: BANNING OXYCODONE NOT A SOLUTION

Some area officials said they believe banning oxycodone, the main
ingredient in Oxycontin, is a bad idea despite frequent reports of the
drug's abuse.

Concerns over abuse of Oxycontin have prompted state Sen. Maj. Leader
Truman Chafin, D-Mingo, to introduce a bill (SB617) banning oxycodone in
West Virginia. One area pharmacist said he believes banning the drug would
deprive people of an effective means of relief for severe pain.

Andy Auxier, staff pharmacist for Phillip's Pharmacy in St. Marys, said
Oxycontin is prescribed under strict guidelines and only for people with
severe pain.

"Most often this is a pain medication that is only reserved for people who
have severe or chronic pain that you would see in cancer," he said. "This
is not a front-line therapy."

Auxier said the ban is a bad idea because Oxycontin, if used correctly,
significantly can reduce severe pain and make life easier for suffering
patients.

"I personally think the ban would cause people who really need the
medication to go without it," he said.

"I do know there are several people out there whose quality of life is
greatly improved through the use of Oxycontin."

Though he recognizes many people abuse Oxycontin, Auxier said it does not
warrant an outright ban of the drug's main ingredient.

"Just because it's abused doesn't mean everybody out there abuses it," he said.

When used correctly, Oxycontin is a sustained-release medication. Auxier
said this means a capsule releases small amounts of the drug into the body
over a period of 12 hours. Patients only have to take two tablets a day, he
said.

"If they take the other medications, sometimes they have to take six or
eight tablets a day," he said.

Abusers of Oxycontin crush the pills and inject them in liquid form
directly into the blood stream, Auxier said. This produces an instant
euphoric effect.

Using Oxycontin in this manner also destroys the sustained release
mechanism in the pills, and users ultimately inject a variety of other
chemicals along with the oxycodone, he said.

"When they crush it, they're getting all the tablet fillers directly into
their veins," Auxier said. "The things in a tablet aren't meant to go into
a person's veins. Those fillers have been known to cause strokes when
injected."

Capt. Rick Woodyard of the Parkersburg Violent Crime and Narcotics Task
Force also said an outright ban of oxycodone may be an extreme measure.

"I know that a lot of the professional folks we've talked to speak highly
of it's medical benefits," Woodyard said. "You know, I guess we don't have
anything against the drug other than it's abuse."

Though Oxycontin abuse has not been as rampant in the Wood County area as
some other portions of the state, Woodyard and other members of the task
force have dealt with its abuse.

"I think if the drug can be used for what it's meant to be used for, it's
great," he said. "If they banned it, then eventually it would dwindle out.
I don't have an answer. I just know I've talked to a lot of professionals
who say Oxycontin for people who really need it is a very good thing."

Woodyard said distribution of the drug should be "better controlled" to
ensure it is not prescribed unnecessarily.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Srini Vasan said banning oxycodone would be
irresponsible. Vasan said he works with cancer patients whose lives have
been improved by the use of Oxycontin and other sustained-release drugs.
"To ban it is really doing a disservice to the people," Vasan said. "That
is too drastic a measure. They need to introduce measures to control it."

Vasan agreed Oxycontin's sustained-release quality has been a significant
advantage to patients suffering from the effects of cancer.

"One of the main problems for cancer patients who have pain is for them to
take medication quite often, sometimes every three to four hours," Vasan said.

"Oxcodone, MScontin - these are the new medicines introduced in the last 10
years. You can take them twice a day instead of eight times and still have
good pain control all day. Once taken, they are released in the stomach
very slowly. Taking it twice a day would be quite adequate."

It isn't just a matter of convenience for patients in severe pain, Vasan
said. There are serious side effects of taking medicine too frequently.
Frequent use of other medications causes a patient's blood level to
fluctuate between doses. A fluctuating blood level can result in poor pain
control, he said.

Vasan said people abuse narcotics all the time. Oxycontin is no different
than any other drug in that respect, he said.

"They're no different than any other narcotic you would abuse," he said.
"Why this became popular for people to abuse is beyond me. For cancer
patients and people who have severe pain, these are life-saving medicines."