Bono Mack Calls for Tighter Oxycodone Regulations

In testimony today before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack (R-Palm Springs) said the problem of prescription drug abuse is getting worse, and a comprehensive national strategy for combating it is critically needed.

Bono Mack serves as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse and has become a national leader in the fight against this deadly public health epidemic. In her testimony, Bono Mack told Senators:

“As Americans, we rally around efforts to fight breast cancer, childhood diseases and other serious health threats. But for far too long, there have only been hushed whispers about prescription drug abuse – now the fastest growing drug problem in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So as the death toll from prescription drug overdoses continues to rise sharply, it’s time to move this story from the obituary page to the front page where it belongs.

“It’s time to realize that we can’t simply wish this horrific problem away. Not with more than 20,000 people a year dying from it. Not when the number of babies born addicted to the class of drugs that includes prescription painkillers has tripled in the past decade. Not when nearly one out of four high school seniors has used prescription painkillers. This is nothing less than a national tragedy. If 20,000 people died each year from food poisoning, Americans would demand immediate action.

“So what’s the answer? I believe one critically important first step is to do a better job of monitoring and limiting access to prescription drugs containing controlled-release oxycodone hydrochloride, including the popular pain killer OxyContin. While we’re starting to see some progress in the fight against prescription drug abuse, a lot more clearly has to be done. By better coordinating the efforts of local, state and national agencies – and by reducing the supply of highly addictive opioid painkillers – I am convinced that we can eventually save thousands of lives, and spare millions of American families from the devastating heartache of addiction.”

A recent Reuters article claims that since a 2010 formulation change, abuse of OxyContin is down, but also that abusers have moved on to other drugs, including heroin.