Same Day Multiple Prescriptions
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When OxyContin was introduced by Purdue Pharma in 1995, doctors welcomed it enthusiastically. When used properly, OxyContin releases timed doses of the synthetic opiate oxycodone. This time-release mechanism meant that OxyContin, unlike earlier narcotic pain relievers, could treat serious pain for up to 12 hours without serious side effects. But addicts soon learned that by crushing the pills and then snorting or injecting the drug, they could circumvent the pill's time-release safeguard to get a powerful high. Although a handful of doctors have been prosecuted in the last few years in connection with OxyContin overdoses, according to Professor Ann Alpers: "Detailed examination of these cases illustrates that fear of criminal liability or investigation should not deter physicians or nurses from aggressively using opioid analgesics to manage terminal pain, provided that pain has been carefully assessed and treated and communication with families and involved professional caregivers is thorough." Ann Alpers, Criminal Act or Palliative Care? Prosecutions Involving the Care of the Dying, 26 J. LAW MED. & ETHICS 308, 310, 326 (1998).

"Although heroin and OxyContin have a similar unhappy effect on the lives of people addicted to them, there is a critical and simple difference between the two: heroin is illegal; OxyContin, when used as directed, is legal. More than that: the pill is government-approved.… This fact has meant a major conceptual shift for law-enforcement officials, who are used to combating narcotics produced by international drug lords, not international corporations. Terry Woodworth, the deputy director of the D.E.A.'s office of diversion control, says the spread of OxyContin has posed a challenge to the D.E.A.'s traditional methods: "Instead of using the normal law-enforcement techniques -- like going to the source and attempting to eradicate or destroy the criminal organization producing the drug and immobilize its distribution networks and seize all its assets -- you have a very different situation in a legitimate industry, in that your manufacture and distribution is legal."
Paul Tough, The Alchemy of OxyContin: From Pain Relief to Drug Addiction, NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE at 32, July 29, 2001 [HTML]
See also materials discussed in Controlled Substances

General Information
Consensus Statement, Promoting Pain Relief and Preventing Abuse of Pain Medications: A Critical Balancing Act [PDF]

• Press Release, DEA to Join Pain Advocates in Issuing Statement on Prescription Pain Medications, October 23, 2001 [HTML] [PDF]

• OxyContin® Package Insert, July 18, 2001 [PDF]
• Purdue Letter to Healthcare Professionals, July 18, 2001 [PDF]

Regulatory
FDA-CDER OxyContin Information [HTML]
Department of Justice, Information Bulletin, OxyContin Diversion and Abuse [HTML]

• DOJ/DEA Diversion Control Program, FAQs [HTML]
• DOJ/DEA Diversion Control Program, Drugs and Chemicals of Concern [HTML]

Statement by Terrance W. Woodworth, Deputy Director, Officer of Diversion Control, DEA, before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS, August 28, 2001 [HTML]

Regulatory
Office of the Attorney General, State of Virginia, Press Release, Attorney General Earley Announces Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force -- Group Named Following Recommendation at Richmond Summit on OxyContin -- April 12, 2001 [HTML]

News Stories
Lindsay F. Wiley, Florida Judge Rules that OxyContin Maker's Marketing Plans Can Be Made Public, January 28, 2003 [HTML]
Lindsay F. Wiley, Purdue Pharma Pulls OxyContin Ads After Warning from FDA, January 25, 2003 [HTML]
Lindsay F. Wiley, Judge Certifies Class in Ohio OxyContin Suit, August 30, 2002 [HTML]
Lindsay F. Wiley, Federal Court Denies Class Certification in Kentucky OxyContin Litigation, April 8, 2002 [HTML]
Lindsay F. Wiley, Doctor Convicted of Manslaughter in Four OxyContin Deaths Sentenced to 62 years, March 27, 2002 [HTML]
Barry Meier, OxyContin Prescribers Face Charges in Fatal Overdoses, NEW YORK TIMES, January 19, 2002 [HTML]
Barry Meier, Overdoses of Painkiller Are Linked to 282 Deaths, NEW YORK TIMES, October 28, 2001 [HTML]
David Sharp, “Seeking relief; Suit filed against pain drug blames marketing,” MARKETING NEWS TM, September 10, 2001. $[Lexis] $[Westlaw]
Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Press Release, AG Fisher Calls on OxyContin Maker to Stop Aggressive Marketing of Painkiller, August 21, 2001 [HTML]
Maker Chose Not to Act to Reduce Abuse of OxyContin, NEW YORK TIMES, August 13, 2001 [HTML]
New form of OxyContin would thwart abusers, USA TODAY, 08/08/2001 [HTML]
Press Release, International Patent Application To Be Published on Abuse-Resistant Pain Reliever Being Developed by Purdue Pharmacy [HTML]
Doctors tighten controls on pain drug OxyContin, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, August 06, 2001 [HTML]
Attorney General Calls For Major Changes In Marketing And Distribution Of Oxycontin, August 6, 2001 [HTML]
OxyContin prescription leads to murder charge, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, July 29, 2001 [Lexis]
Effort to Cut a Painkiller's Use, NEW YORK TIMES, July 26, 2001) [HTML]
States work to control OxyContin abuse, CNN, July 20, 2001 [HTML]
OxyContin makers face another lawsuit, NANDO TIMES, June 17, 2001 [HTML]
Press Release, Purdue Pharma Responds to Complaint by Attorney General of West Virginia [HTML]