BY KEITH LACEY
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The increased use and growing addiction problems related to the prescription medicine OxyContin is effecting so many people, a task force has been
established in the city to tackle it before "things get completely out of control."
OxyContin is a synthetic opiate prescribed for pain relief. In recent years, people looking for a cheap high have crushed the pills and used them as a
replacement for heroin, thus its street name "hillbilly heroin."
In addition to being found in many medicine cabinets at home, thieves seek it out in drug store break-ins.
Vicki Ridout-Kett is co-chair of the OxyContin/Narcotic Abuse Task Force and general manager of Access AIDS in Sudbury. She and other key leaders in the task force held a kickoff news conference Monday at Greater Sudbury Police headquarters.
Representatives from the medical and pharmaceutical community, along with local addiction centres, street workers, seniors, school boards and recovering addicts are members of the task force.
They have agreed to work together to develop strategies to try and educate the public and provide services and treatment in a collaborative effort because OxyContin abuse is growing among all age groups, said Police Chief Ian Davidson, who is also a co-chair.
The active ingredient in OxyContin is oxycodone, which is very similar to morphine and is also found in percocet and percodan, other prescription drugs that have long been abused by addicts on the street.
City police investigations have determined two deaths per month were directly related to OxyContin abuse, and one death per month was directly related to an overdose, said Davidson.
"We quickly realized we had to do something to try to tackle this serious problem," he said. "We realized we would need a collective voice."
Like any drug abuse problem, those affected often resort to criminal behaviour to feed their addictions, said Davidson.
"It's not just a Sudbury problem, but one taking place across North America," Kett said. "It's an urban problem and rural problem...the extent of the problem is huge."
A survey of students in Grades 7 to 12 indicated 35 percent had ingested a prescription drug not prescribed to them and 20 percent had used a
prescription drug to get high and these numbers are staggering and worrisome, said Kett.
