OxyContin Ban Goes Too Far
To some people, OxyContin is a "miracle drug." To others, it is "a major threat to public health." What's the solution? Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth has one solution: Ban it.
Reprinted from the South-Florida Sun Sentinel.
To some people, OxyContin is a "miracle drug." To others, it is "a major threat to public health."
When used legally as prescribed, it is extremely effective at providing time-released, 24-hour relief from extreme, chronic pain caused by major surgery, cancer, or degenerative bone or nerve diseases.
But when abused illegally by drug addicts who chew it, grind it up and snort it or inject it mixed with water, it is extremely effective at getting them high and even killing them.
What's the solution? How can state officials combat the abuse of this new "drug of choice" that has already killed 152 Floridians just this year?
Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth has one solution: Ban it for a while.
That's going too far. Given the slowness of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approval of a reformulated pill that adds a chemical to combat the drug's harmful effects might take three to five years.
During the ban, tens of thousands of Floridians who now rely on OxyContin to combat pain would be denied its enormous, life-changing benefits. The state isn't considering banning drugs like Xanax or Valium, also effective but widely abused. So a ban on OxyContin isn't justified.
Several reforms, however, can help fight the abuse without hurting legitimate use of the drug:
Already, Perdue Pharma stopped making the most-abused megadose-sized Oxycontin pill and offers only lower-dosage pills.
The company gave doctors stronger written warnings and forgery-proof prescription pads.
The firm also supports the idea of reformulation, adding the chemical naltrexone to block euphoric effects of OxyContin pills not used correctly.
Perdue Pharma is working with the Florida Medical Association and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association to develop clearer pain management guidelines. These will help doctors who wrongly turn to OxyContin for short-term pain relief, when other, less risky drugs would be just as effective.
Creating a central computer registry of all pharmacies and prescriptions would allow better monitoring of who is over-prescribing or overusing the pills.
Finally aggressive actions by police, prosecutors, judges and juries to go after rogue doctors who run "pill mills" can deter others from feeding addicts' hungers.
When used legally as prescribed, it is extremely effective at providing time-released, 24-hour relief from extreme, chronic pain caused by major surgery, cancer, or degenerative bone or nerve diseases.
But when abused illegally by drug addicts who chew it, grind it up and snort it or inject it mixed with water, it is extremely effective at getting them high and even killing them.
What's the solution? How can state officials combat the abuse of this new "drug of choice" that has already killed 152 Floridians just this year?
Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth has one solution: Ban it for a while.
That's going too far. Given the slowness of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, approval of a reformulated pill that adds a chemical to combat the drug's harmful effects might take three to five years.
During the ban, tens of thousands of Floridians who now rely on OxyContin to combat pain would be denied its enormous, life-changing benefits. The state isn't considering banning drugs like Xanax or Valium, also effective but widely abused. So a ban on OxyContin isn't justified.
Several reforms, however, can help fight the abuse without hurting legitimate use of the drug:
Already, Perdue Pharma stopped making the most-abused megadose-sized Oxycontin pill and offers only lower-dosage pills.
The company gave doctors stronger written warnings and forgery-proof prescription pads.
The firm also supports the idea of reformulation, adding the chemical naltrexone to block euphoric effects of OxyContin pills not used correctly.
Perdue Pharma is working with the Florida Medical Association and Florida Osteopathic Medical Association to develop clearer pain management guidelines. These will help doctors who wrongly turn to OxyContin for short-term pain relief, when other, less risky drugs would be just as effective.
Creating a central computer registry of all pharmacies and prescriptions would allow better monitoring of who is over-prescribing or overusing the pills.
Finally aggressive actions by police, prosecutors, judges and juries to go after rogue doctors who run "pill mills" can deter others from feeding addicts' hungers.
