OxyContin and other related pharmaceutical drugs are worse then heroin, cocaine, or meth combined.

No illegal drugs give you suicidal thoughts such as these drugs do.

The Lame-stream media likes to focus on guns as a national epidemic.

Failing to realize that 95% of all high school / college shootings, the killers have been on, or have recently been taken off of these pharmaceutical drugs.

This issue is ignored.

Ever seen the commercials between ABC's broadcasts? Never seen a gun commercial. Seen about a billion different drug commercials.

Funny that.

Thats good news, the courts and the attorneys receive 34.so many million. What about the people they hooked on this drug. What do you think happen to these peoples lives. Hurray for you, the big guy makes out again.

This is very interesting news, given the fact that my sister (diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer) was prescribed Oxycontin by her pain management physician. She has been on this pain killer since mid March and just this week spoke with the doctor about lowering the dosage. She has sought alternative treatment for her cancer and has recently shown signs of some improvement. She now feels that she has become addicted to this drug which obviously is the case given the information in this news article.

These companies are worse than crack-dealers. You don't see crack dealers coming into your house, during dinner with the family, pushing their drugs.

Yes, it is addictive, HIGHLY addictive.

And THAT is why they sell it. This, and for no other reason.

I understand, it may be beneficial for some, but it's the other 90% of users who abuse it.

Meth + Oxy == BIG HIGH for junkies, they take it in combinations now.

The drug manufacturers know this, yet distribute it freely, nonetheless.

Criminals, all.

But a crack dealer will go to prison 5-10 years for a couple of rocks.

Funny that...

I am a Family Physician at an academic medical center. I have managed many people with acute and chronic pain using this and other available pain medicines. I am subject to misinformation from pharmaceutical companies on a daily basis. I will swear under oath that this practice is used by all pharmaceutical companies on a daily basis. I hope that events like these spell the beginning of the end of this business practice.
Also, please understand there is a big difference between physical dependence in which one should be slowly tapered off a medicine, and addiction, which is both a psychological and physical problem. There are many very helpful medicines which, even when used properly, can produce either condition in a patient. We should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. I ask you each to focus on the larger problem as discussed above.

I also have cancer (breast cancer, stage III) and was prescribed this medication during periods of intense pain. Without it I don't think I would have gotten thru it. However I also share in the responsibility of my treatment, it is not just my doctors responsibility. Therefore I took the medication with caution and awareness so when I no longer needed it (about 3 months later) I did not have any addiction issues.

This is just horrible. Can I tell you that my mom died from Breast Cancer 5 years ago we had to sit and watch this women cry in pain and listen to her dr tell us how she was addicted to the pain medicine. This cancer had spread to her bones and then her brain.

How dare them. Do they know my mom was a women of class and to have a dr tell her this on her death bed was horrible.

What is wrong with this world!

Sharon: Thanks for your honesty. It is all too obvious that there 'Quack' doctors out there will give anybody any drugs at any time.

And honest physicians, aren't able to learn what the drugs really do because of all the mis-information.

They usually have no idea what the drugs they are distributing actually does.

And if there is a mis-diagnosis, WATCH OUT! The user will have to come OFF the first set of drugs (which is very painful and dangerous), only to be force-feed different drugs.

It's almost satanic as far as I'm concerned.

As a quick example, no dentist can tell me what Flouride REALLY does, all they can say is it "Kills Cavities". Then I ask, "What else does it kill". They fail to respond... They have no idea. They just repeat what they are told.

That's horrible Reese. Morphine or heroin (administered by a professional of course), is much less addictive (I believe), but can treat the pain that your mother had just as well.

As far as I know, morphine is NOT addictive when being treated for pain. The patient does not get high, because the drug is 100% dedicated to treating the pain, with only the required dosage only.

The reason your mother was given these addictive drugs though (in my opinion) is because of the fact that they WERE addictive and they could sell more of them.

That is evil. You can judge a society by how it treats is young, elderly, and sick.

We force-feed them drugs.

It is my uderstading if you have extreme pain from cacer for example this drug does wonders however if you are a health 23 year old like my nephew and ake this Oxycottin the drug attacks the heart and kills you, as it did my nephew and 6 other teens in Thousand Oaks, Ca this year (2007)alone! the fault also rests on the Dr.'s that give the RX w/out monitoring the amout of pills they give out at onetime.

This medication works great when used responsibly, Its the idiots that abuse it that give it a bad name, be responsible for you own actions, Once addicted to the medication you need to work with your Dr to get off of it, It easy and simple to get off of when working with a Dr.

I took oxycontin 80mg 3x daily and Lorcet 10 3-4 times daily for break through pain. The pain was from two torn rotator cuffs,bilateral carpal tunnell,bone spurs in the neck and ruptured disk. I was cut off immediately by the doctor after a 10 year period as I also took tylenol 3 occassionly as the oxy-lorcet became more and more ineffective with useage.I had to enter a drug rehab program for 6 weeks and am currently taking Voltaren 75mg every 12 hours which is non-naracotic. When I initially went to the Physician I was not informed of any alternative for pain nor was I offered anything for pain and in hearing about the pain clinics,I went to one and began the ten year+ regimen which would lead to the rehab. I was not warned except this is a new drug made from some sort of shellfish which has proven effective to pain. By the time I gained any info it was too late. You can't tell any patient in pain to read or check the meds as they are in extreme pain. The reason my own doctor offered no help? Because I look so healthy and should not be in pain. Tests were in his office at that time which confirmed all my health problems (completed by highly reputable professional physicians recommended by himself, nerve conduction tests,and orthopedic,mri,xrays etc...) and a family which stated very,very,often that I should not be in pain since our regular physician did not prescribe anything-so what do you do?

Same here. Now that I'm trying to kick the habbit of this constant craving for this drug, what is there for me now? What do I do now?
So, the courts made them pay. BUT what does that mean for me?
What will the damage be to my health? Is the government going to send me money for what I've been through? I think not! Dirty politicians and others will get to keep their millions and will not worry about the little people like me!!!!

My husband is in rehab for the 3rd time trying to deal with the effects of Oxycontin. He took it for more than 7 years as prescribed by a physician for the back pain he endures because of 6 back surgeries. He decided to get off of it after the effects were publicised so highly more than 2 years ago. He is an emotional wreck and has had a hard time dealing with life. It has affected us tremendously. I am lucky he did not commit suicide. He went out one day to kill himself, but, thank God, he did not. It has cost us most of our savings because of his emotional state. What DOES happen to us who have been victimized by this insidious drug? Do we have any recourse?

My daughter Sabrina 20 years old (with a beautiful 3 year old daughter) was buried last July because of this drug. She tried several times to get the doctors that got her on the drugs to help get her off and they all told her to go home and take the drug! I did everything I could to get her doctor to help her and they wouldn’t even speak to me. Now Sabrina's only sister is battling the same disease.

I feel that the drug companies should follow the cigarette company’s guidelines;

1. No advertising to the public

2. Take their advertising money and build top notch rehab facilities to help the thousands of victims, if they have the strength to walk in they get top notch care

3. The doctors that prescribe the drug need to be responsible to work at the rehab that the drug companies have to build to make sure they are not destroying the lives of their patients

I don’t see cigarettes killing an entire country! At 16 you can’t buy cigarettes but ask anyone and you can get oxicodon!

I think that if the drug company can create genocide to our families they can put the BILLIONS of dollars they are profiting to repairing the damage they have done.

Since my daughter has died there have been 5 other kids her age that have died.

I would like to help others that are standing up to make this stop.

As long as the US Government (congress executive and judicial branches) and the drug companies are working together to keep drugs on the market, why would they care if people become addicted? I believe that the government would make marijuana, cocaine, etc. legal if they could control the people producing it and make money off it.

It is Bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is very bad for you and if you take you have the posibility of dying from this Oxycontin. So don't take it!!!!!!!!
IT IS EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a rep for Purdue, sold OxyContin for 9 years. My territory had no deaths and abuse was not a widespread problem. I covered territory in New Mexico and Texas and closely monitored my sales for signs of abuse. This is what led to the widespread abuse of OxyContin on the streets. The reps and managers that looked the other way while irresponsible and greedy doctors prescribed the narcotics to be sold on the street. I did not make the huge bonuses that the reps in the problem states such as Fl,OH,Mn,PA,WV,V,TN,and KY did. Some made over 150,000/quarter and their managers benefited from their so called success while the rest of us who did a good job of teaching proper pain management got put on probation. It is a shame that those who required rehab did not get the proper screening befor initiating therapy. Remember there are no "bad" drugs, these are inanimate objects. Drugs can either work, do nothing or harm depending the those prescribing. Perhaps its time for pharmacists to play a larger role in prescribing. Furthermore, it is time for medical schools to start mandating education in pain treatment and management including more curriculum on the medications used. Doctors still don't know the difference between addiction (psychological and physical dependence), abuse (recreational use), and physcial dependence (an inate receptor issue,which may include tolerance). States could help in this area as well.

JelloBiafra, you claim to be a physician earlier in this comment area, but then in other comments it sounds like you don't know squat. What's the deal?

People need to get off their high-horse and let those of us who need these meds to live our life day-to-day have them. Some of you morons want to legislate all of the "evils" out of society with no regard for the burdens some us carry on a daily basis. I certainly wouldn't wish my pain upon anyone else let alone not give them access to any pain killers.

Spend a few days in my life and then, and only then, feel free to get back to me and state how you feel about these medications. Oxycontin, when used as directed, is a wonderful tool for those that truly need it. To the rest of you that feel I should live without, suck it!

(Yes, I realize this is months old, but it really ticked me off)

i have used all kinds of drugs and they are all bad but if someone takes away oxycontin or pain meds you want to see crime go wild? if i didnt have pain relief from the pills for my back i wouldnt make it.. the drug companies dont care about us for sure but we need the drugs the people thAT are going to use the street drugs r going to use them no matter what...

This company and the irresponsible doctor of mine took 8 years out of my life. This company woo'ed the medical community for years prepping them for "liberal" narcotic practices. This company counted on the lack of medical education required in med school, so that the doctors would then need to rely on them (Purdue)for drug information. This company conducted a massive campaigned filled with lies starting with the US Patent office, then the FDA, then the Medical institutions, then the local Doc's, and actually had the audasity to lie to the American press, and the Federal DEA. But I'm not forgetting the worst lies, which were directed straight at the actual patients, who they addicted and then told them they were only "dependant". Who else do you know, in this country, can get away with that bull? My heart goes out to every patient, who is now on the drug, and like me at one time, claims this drug to be a "miracle". All I can tell you is; it took a "miracle" to keep me from death and/or street addiction. I worked hard all my life, paid my taxes, contributed to my community, and at 52 years old went to the doctor for my degenerating back. That's all I did. And before you protectors of the evil-doers cry the famous Purdue mantra: that I must not have taken it the way it was prescribed, forget it. I took it EXACTLY as prescribed. That's all I did. Who do you think has been punished here? And for what? I'm disgusted by the whole thing. People are dead. So many families are ruined. It's a scandal that continues today. And when these poor people who think they "need" this drug start to deal with the "real" effects down the road, when thier body screams and demands more and more, you wont be hearing from them. Because they will either be "accidently" dead or horribly addicted and wont have the strength or will to be typing messages on a computer. That's the one thing this company can count on. Their victims (eventually) can't fight back. WAKE UP!! This is a defective product. It does not last 12 hours, as claimed. And if you are taking it 3 X's a day to make up for that defect, you are literally playing with death. There are seventeen other narcotic/opiates available for pain. So, why do we allow a drug connected with so much destruction, when there are other choices? NO PILL is worth that. Maybe for the dying patient, but certainly not for the chronic pain patient. Oxycontin has way more negatives than positives, with statistics to prove it.

Today I heard an older man talking about Oxicontin. He said the generics were going away. He had been taking the drug for years and had experienced the withdrawal. The lack of generics is going to crash his finances as he and his wife live on a fixed income. He was frantically asking the pharmacist to lay in a supply of the generic. He sounded a lot like a drug addict negotiating with a dealer. The older people, the ones who are least able to pay high prices for drugs, are the ones who are about to pay huge amounts for the non-generic version of the drug which just had it's patent re-affirmed. Patents aren't supposed to pervert the welfare of the public at large. I think the generics should continue, not go away. Just my opinion.

"It is my uderstading if you have extreme pain from cacer for example this drug does wonders however if you are a health 23 year old like my nephew and ake this Oxycottin the drug attacks the heart and kills you, as it did my nephew and 6 other teens in Thousand Oaks, Ca this year (2007)alone! the fault also rests on the Dr.'s that give the RX w/out monitoring the amout of pills they give out at onetime."

Attacks the heart? a narcotic? please... Even worse than peddling a substance to those that dont need it are folks who have no education and have what amounts to idiocy regarding knowledge of a drug...

Narcotics cause respiration to slow and cease in an overdose...

Im treated with 20mg oxycontin twice a day for a chronic kidney disorder... I take it as directed because there is indeed a beast one can unleash if abused. It makes life tolerable.

please get your facts straight people and dont say straight retarded information about a narcotic attacking the heart. you should get a punch in the jaw.

I am pretty certain you all are underestimating the education of those doctors prescribing oxycontin... It is very likely the vast majority of people commenting on the lack of education in doctors have the IQ caliber of bus drivers and janitors... "Gee, lets ignore that these guys have the better part of a decade in medical education because we are sooooo much smarter regarding medicine".

Oxycontin has a valuable place in treating chronic pain. Ive taken it for quite some time as 20mg twice per day. I use it as directed and am aware of the risks. The drug has increased my quality of life dramatically.

Addiction ***IS NOT WHAT HAPPENS TO PAIN PATIENTS*** I must highlight that because i find it amazing anyone claiming patients are becoming addicts is even able to read. A very very small amount of patients become drug addicts. Patients become PYSICALLY DEPENDENT on the drugs in the same way heart patients rely on statin drugs or diabetics rely on insulin. I dont see many people claiming that diabetics are addicted to insulin... They depend on it to live and pain patients depend on pain relief to make it through the day without undo suffering.

To those of you claiming patients are becoming addicts or that doctors lack pharmaceutical education your best bet to aiding society is to place your heads into your microwave ovens and zap them so that we can eliminate malignant idiots in our culture.

There are many cases of drug & alcohol addiction and this number is increasing at a infinite rate. Drugs like cocaine, morphine, heroin and marijuana are very hazardous and its use can result in various drug related disorders related to mind and body.