Grieving relatives want limitsplaced on prescription painkiller

Norma Ratliff knows the pain too: Her son was shot to death by two men who rifled through his pockets looking for OxyContin. And Franklin McIntosh was jailed after robbing a bank to fund his Oxy addiction.

"Once they get hold of you, you do anything it takes to get more," said McIntosh, 46, a former motorcycle shop service manager.

In the past year, OxyContin overdoses have resulted in at least 59 deaths in Kentucky's mountain region, authorities said. In Virginia, 32 deaths have been connected to abuse of the drug.

Concern is being voiced in several states as more illicit drug users discover OxyContin, often used to treat cancer patients. Users grind up the tablets and snort the powder, or mix it with water and inject it like heroin.

The drug is more popular than cocaine or heroin because it produces a high that is more euphoric than other narcotics, said Kentucky prosecutor Joseph Famularo.

In addition to a spate of deaths, authorities report an accompanying increase in crime, such as robberies of pharmacies, residential burglaries and bank heists, as users steal to feed their addictions.

Kentucky police in February arrested more than 200 people in a single day on OxyContin-related charges.

Officials from five states and the federal government met with the drug's manufacturer, Purdue Pharma of Stamford, Conn., earlier this month to discuss solutions to the problems.

"We want to do everything we can to make sure this medicine is used for patients for whom it is appropriate and that it is not given to those who don't need it or who would abuse it," said Dr. J. David Haddox, senior medical director for health policy at Purdue Pharma.

While the company maintains the drug is safe when used properly under a physician's supervision, it's planning programs to educate health care providers about prescription drug abuse, and inform doctors about tamper-resistant prescription pads.

Critics say the preventative measures don't go far enough. A Virginia physician is circulating a national petition to ban OxyContin, even though he recognizes the benefits for patients with chronic pain.

"By light years, the harm outweighs the benefits," said Dr. Art Van Zee of the St. Charles Community Health Clinic.<