What evidence does the DEA have to support accounts that OxyContin is being abused to the extent that has been reported by the media?
Since its introduction in 1996, the number of OxyContin prescriptions dispensed has increased 20-fold to about 6 million in 2000. During this same time, medical examiners, drug treatment centers, law enforcement personnel, and pharmacists have reported a substantial increase in the abuse of this product. Information received from the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) indicates that instances of emergency department episodes and medical examiners reports involving oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin , have increased significantly since 1996. Reports from 20 metropolitan areas within the continental U.S. indicate that oxycodone-related deaths and emergency department episodes have increased 400 percent and 100 percent, respectively. Most deaths reported in the media and attributed to OxyContin have generally occurred in areas outside the DAWN system, such as Maine, West Virginia, and rural Kentucky. DEA has been actively collecting and evaluating data from medical examiners in
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