OxyContin backlash Clampdowns on the painkiller because of abuse makes it harder to get prescriptions, some patients say. In one short year, OxyContin has become the dastardly villain in the war on drugs, engendering the ire of prosecutors and federal regulators while being blamed for dozens of deaths from New England to Florida.
Nervous physicians are on the lookout for addicts faking injuries to con prescriptions.
The government is considering restricting distribution. It lets Liz Constable, who suffers from fibromyalgia, resume some semblance of a normal life after nearly a decade of debilitating pain. As law enforcement tries to battle the illegal use of OxyContin, a powerful prescription pain reliever that has become a hot new street drug, some patients and pain management groups worry they'll be the ones to suffer. Already some doctors are blanching at prescribing it, they say, and advocacy groups fear new government restrictions that will make it more difficult for people who need it to get it. The last thing I'm going to do is sell a drug on the street.