So, where do the problems lie?
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Law enforcement: Law enforcement agencies are understaffed and underfunded, making it difficult to allocate the resources to fight this or any other drug problem.
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The courts: Why is it that people who have suffered losses and damages from the ILLEGAL use of this or any other substance can file law suits against the manufacturer? Shouldn't the fact that any losses or damages they suffered were the result of their own illegal act automatically preclude them from filing such suits? Judge James J. Rowe, Chief Judge of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Greenbrier County, West Virginia thinks so. On August 15, 2002, he decided the lawsuit brought by Brian Allen, as administrator of the estate of his deceased spouse, Rebecca Ann Allen, in Purdue Pharma's favor. In the seven-page written Order deciding Allen v. Purdue Pharma L.P., et al, Judge Rowe held, "[The] Plaintiff and Mrs. Allen circumvented all safety measures set forth by Defendant in the form of warnings…[T]he use of OxyContin in contravention of those safety measures was the proximate cause of Mrs. Allen's death." The Judge also noted, "The undisputed evidence shows that OxyContin is currently and always has been a Schedule II drug, subject to the strictest regulation available. In fact, OxyContin can only be prescribed by a physician who is licensed by the Drug Enforcement Agency ... The various warnings provided by Purdue Pharma clearly laid out the possibility that [the plaintiff's] actions could lead to a fatal overdose…" Judge Rowe added.
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The media: There needs to be more balance and less bias in reporting -- or maybe some writers need to do more background research. As an example, I'll draw from a recent Roanoke Times article by Laurence Hammack². The first glance of Hammack's article gives the impression of an article that's going to tell both sides of the story. It has two columns, each with it's own headline and accompanying photo. One reads, "It ruined my life;" the other, "It gave my life back."
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One paragraph reads, "One life ruined. Another life salvaged. Since OxyContin was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1995 as a treatment for moderate to severe pain, it has become both an effective painkiller and a devastating pain-maker." Hmmmmmmm. OxyContin® ruined the life of the man in the article? I've never heard of a drug that can jump out of the bottle and force someone to take it. So how did the drug ruin his life?
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Hammack also writes, "West of Roanoke, 37 people have died of fatal overdoses attributed to oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin, since 1998." Fine, let's accept that number. However, let's bring up another number. There are 59 medications available in the United States that contain oxycodone. He doesn't mention that. Nor, when he mentions a pending law suit in West Virginia, does he mention the law suit that was already decided in West Virginia, which I outlined above.
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Society and individuals: There seems to be a growing trend for people to not take responsibility for their actions and for society to not hold them accountable. Certainly, we should help people who have a problem with pain medications. However, blaming it on the drugs and not accepting responsibility or holding drug abusers accountable isn't the answer. Placing stronger restrictions on medications that save lives by saving chronic pain patients from the despair that can and does lead to suicide isn't the answer either. Whatever the question is, compromising the needs and rights of patients isn't the answer.
Somthing to Consider:
People tend to focus on the deaths that result from the abuse of oxycodone. I'd
like to point out a few statistics related to another drug widely used in the
United States, alcohol³:
- In 1999, there were 28,109 deaths attributed to cirrhosis of the liver resulting from alcohol abuse.
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In 2000,
there were 13,050 alcohol related traffic fatalities.
- Of those 13,050, 9,073 were the drivers in alcohol related traffic crashes
- 3,396 were passengers in those crashes
- 570 were not occupants
- Thus, those 9,073 alcohol-impaired drivers not only cause their own deaths, they took 3,973 other people with them.
- The 13,050 deaths comprised 31.1% of all traffic fatalities for 2000.
- In 2002, alcohol-related traffic crash deaths were estimated to be responsible for 405,170 years of potential life lost (YPLL).
My point is that if you compare the deaths related to OxyContin to alcohol-related deaths, they pale by comparison, yet I don't see a commensurate controversy related to the abuse of alcohol.
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