As his cravings got worse, he found creative ways to get hold of the pills. Sometimes he would fake back pain and get a shady local doctor to write him an Oxy prescription. Once, he even stole the pills from his grandfather, who was taking them to dull the pain from a fractured spine. These days, nearly everyone in Hazard has an OxyContin horror story to tell. In the last year, local officials say, the drug has swept through the small town, wrecking lives and destroying families.
Precise statistics are hard to pin down, but the number of local addicts runs in the hundreds.
Oxy abuse cuts across income and age lines. Teens meet for Oxy parties in the park. Miners blow their paychecks to feed their addictions. Even grandmothers peddle their prescriptions for quick cash. In February police rounded up more than 200 Oxy dealers in Hazard and surrounding counties, the largest drug bust in state history.