MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Aug. 20, 2007
Painkiller Use In U.S. Skyrockets
Statistics Show Amount Of Pain Medicine Sold Jumped 90 Percent Between 1997 And 2005
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Oxycodone, the chemical used in OxyContin, is responsible for most of the increase. Oxycodone use jumped nearly six-fold between 1997 and 2005. (AP)
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Perhaps no place illustrates the trends and consequences for the world of pain better than Myrtle Beach, a sprawling community of strip malls, hotels and bars perched along a 60-mile strip of sand on the Atlantic Ocean. The metro area, which includes three counties, is home to 350,000 people but sees more than 14 million tourists annually, drawn to its warm water, golf courses and shopping.
During the eight-year period reflected in government figures, oxycodone distribution increased 800 percent in the area of Myrtle Beach, partly due to a campaign by Purdue Pharmaceuticals of Stamford, Conn. The privately held company has pleaded guilty to lying to patients, physicians and federal regulators about the addictive nature of the drug.
Use of other drugs soared in the area, too: Hydrocodone use increased 217 percent; morphine distribution went up 180 percent; even meperidine, most commonly sold as Demerol, jumped 20 percent.
It is no small wonder that federal authorities suspected the area was home to a notorious "pill mill," or a clinic that dispenses prescription medication without verifying that it's needed.
The U.S. attorney for South Carolina secured a 58-count indictment in June 2002 against seven physicians and one employee of the Comprehensive Care and Pain Management Center, a nondescript storefront on Myrtle Beach's main drag.
Tipped off by local pharmacists concerned about an increase in the volume of painkiller prescriptions, the federal investigation created a furor in the medical profession. The owner, D. Michael Woodward, was sentenced to 15 years in the case and has relinquished his license.
A second physician, Deborah Bordeaux, had worked at the clinic less than two months before quitting in disgust. Bordeaux, now serving a two-year prison term, was threatened with a 100-year sentence if she did not help the prosecution.
Officials with the Justice Department and the DEA would not discuss what some activists say is a "war on doctors."
Reynolds, the widow who drove her late husband hundreds of miles for his pills, became an activist after the Myrtle Beach indictments. She contributed money to appeal some of the criminal convictions in South Carolina and started the Pain Relief Network, an advocacy organization for people living in pain. She believes the doctors sent to prison were railroaded.
"It was a witch hunt," she said.
Bordeaux's husband, Edworth Swaim, agrees. A retired U.S. Postal Service employee, Swaim believes his wife was sentenced to two years because she would not turn on her former colleagues. Even though Bordeaux had worked at the clinic less than two months and eventually sued over what she alleged was rampant Medicare fraud, he said she did not stand a chance of avoiding prison.
"She wasn't guilty of anything, so she wasn't going to plead to anything," Swaim said. "She was absolutely railroaded, made an example of. I can't tell you how angry I am."
Myrtle Beach physicians are not convinced that the "Myrtle Beach Eight," as they became known, were innocent.
A Myrtle Beach internist who also works in addiction medicine, Brian Adler, said physicians were flooded with patients seeking pain medicine after the clinic was shut down.
The community has a slightly higher-than-average number of older people and relatively high numbers of people between 21 and 64 who describe themselves as disabled.
"There's a significant problem with narcotics in this area," Adler said. After the pain management clinic closed, "all those folks were like rats, scurrying from a burning building, trying to get their fix."
Other physicians were concerned about patients with legitimate needs for painkillers. The federal bust raised the stakes.
When radio commentator Rush Limbaugh settled a federal case charging him with illegally obtaining painkillers, he did not get prison time. Neither did NFL star Brett Favre, who publicly acknowledged an addiction to Vicodin that he obtained legally.
To pain management specialists, they were being blamed for everyone's addiction.
The DEA cites 108 prosecutions of physicians during the past four years; 83 pleaded guilty or no contest, while 16 others were convicted by juries. Eight cases are pending, and one physician is being sought as a fugitive.
In congressional testimony, the agency's deputy assistant administrator, Joseph T. Rannazzisi, estimated that fewer than 1 percent of the nation's physicians — under 9,000 — illegally provide prescription drugs to patients. He told lawmakers it is far more common for people to illegally obtain prescription drugs from friends and family members.
"It is not merely illegal but could feed or lead to an addiction and place that loved one in a life-threatening situation," Rannazzisi said.
It is impossible to reliably measure painkiller abuse.
A 2004 government study estimated between 2 million and 3 million doses of codeine, hydrocodone and oxycodone are stolen annually from pharmacies, distributors and drug manufacturers. The AP's analysis only included retail sales and did not include estimates of diverted pharmaceuticals.
John Charles, director of medical affairs at the Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, practices pain management. A few years ago, Charles said, he took a drastic step to reduce his potential legal risks: He stopped prescribing painkillers.
The decision gave him peace of mind, but he does not expect there to be less of a need for painkillers or physicians who prescribe them.
"People with cancer are surviving longer, elderly people are living longer," Charles said. "So, physicians are walking a fairly fine line. We're walking a narrow path. And I think we'll continue to see it for a while."
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 36 CommentsKudos to the few compassionate doctors who are out there that really care about the quality of their patients'' lives.
irving82 your husband is one of the smart ones...I give him credit. He could have easily ended up being an addict but he chose to get on with life.
Our pets go to the vet and have major surgery. They get sent home with a few days worth of pain pills...which hopefully the owner remembers to give them. They survive and get on with their lives.
I have seen little children jumping up and down in their cribs less then a day after having surgery. They are medicated mostly to sedate them so they won''t rip their stitches from activity.
I admit there are people out there that have chronic "severe" pain and need strong pain medications. I am all for someone with terminal cancer being given whatever it takes to get rid of their pain. But we should not give prescriptions of narcotics to every person who walks thru the door for "minor" pain just because they think they need it to feel good.
I have seen many, many lives ruined by over use and abuse of prescribed narcotics and it pissses me off. BTW I am a nurse.
the problem with these drugs and many like them is that after a while they no longer work and then what? when you get to a point when your painkillers don''t work what do you turn to for pain relief? morphine on a regular daily basis? cocaine?? heroin??
this combined with the fact that if you don''t get your pills filled, you don''t get your disability check. i think we are a society that breeds dependency.
let me finish by saying that my husband feel 27 feet off a roof in Aug of 06, 1 year ago this month. He had shattered both his heels, was in the hospital for 10 days, had 5 pins and 6 screws put in his left foot, 4 pins and 2 screws in his right foot, in a wheel chair for 42 days - had a morphine drip in the hospital for the first 2 days, codine while in the hospital and a 30 day supply at home following his release and nothing besides tylenol arthritis since! he went back to work Nov. 1st 06, six days a week, up and down a ladder and is still going today!!!
for those of you who think you can not live with pain and need the meds to get you through i''ll tell you the same thing i told my mother-in-law. i can only say that i feel sympathy for you, my husband however can feel your pain. the only difference is he, unlike you, has chosen not to.
My point is that today''s society expects to feel perfect 24/7 and thus pop pain pills to acheive this goal. Pain medications are being over used by many people for minor pain and they will develop a tolerance and require higher doses and stronger narcotics the day they do experience severe pain. Look what happened with the over use of antibiotics.
Posted by LawyerTom1
Rumor is it''s Democrats trying OD on painkillers everytime someone says Hillary is leading in the polls
The problem is that people with minor pain want to feel 100% great all the time. So doctors are prescribing stronger medications for minor pain. People taking pain medications for every little ache and pain will develop a tolerance. Then when they actually do have significant pain they will need even stronger pain medications. Of course people with severe chronic pain need strong medications. The pill-popper-wanna-feel-good-all-the-time generation is ruining it for those who do have chronic significant pain.
For those of you who think that people should "just take it" have no clue what it is like to live in severe chronic pain.
What did they do before??? Well... we always try to improve upon what was done before - peopld did not live as long - nor did they live as productive.
It is very concerning in this day and age when people who suffer some very serious illnesses cannot have their pain addressed.
We aren''t talking about your average headache that will be gone in a day or two. We are talking about pain that creates more pain upon pain due to pain not being controlled.
If you have any understanding of how the human body deals with pain and the exponential pain that can occur due to pain from organic growths and abnormalities - you would not be so cavalier in your indifference to people who do suffer from pain that needs addressed.
I am not coming from one who abuses drugs - nor in the thought process of those who do for a "high"... I am speaking from serious, chronic... diseases that take away from quality of life and potentially kill in slow long drawn out increments.
from the article
I don''t know if you realize it or not, but 300 mg is less than one regular size tylenol tablet! Granted when you are talking about some of these meds, 300 mg is a lot, but the above article is written in such a way that it will scare you.
I am another person who depends on a pain medicine just to be able to get enough relief to function. These types of ''news'' articles do more harm to patients like us than anything else out there.
Lobbyist the scum of the earth. All the legislatures that take bribes from them are even lower and a punishment should be in order a severe punishment like cancel there pensions and kick them out.
The doctors in this country have some responsibility as well as the pharmaceuticals meeting with the doctors giving them free drugs and pushing them, what did they do in the old days when they had pain.
Its Congress that put drug companies in the position to do what they are doing, so who cares.
Big Business bought and paid for Congress time and again, we dont have a government that is interested in protecting the people anymore, this is about profit.
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