Dear Dr. Sponaugle,

I apologize for not writing to you sooner, but I guess that speaks to the success of your program that I have been so busy getting on with my new life. It has now been three weeks since you detoxed me and I can't believe I am the same person that you saw just a short time ago. My journey seems to be an all too familiar story that took me from a 'normal' physically active person, who was prescribed pain medication from my family doctor, to a three-year dependence that left me a thoroughly broken man.
After being diagnosed with a skin disorder inside my mouth that resulted in open blisters that were so painful that I could barely force food into my system my doctor gave me Vicoprofen for pain relief. Two years and several doctors later the Vicoprofen wasn't yielding the pain relief as it did earlier and I found myself taking more to try to lesson the pain. It was about this time that my life took a dangerous turn that led me to a hell that only people who have experienced this situation could understand.
About one year ago a different doctor prescribed what he referred to as a new medication that would help me 'considerably'; the name of the drug was Oxycontin. At first Oxycontin worked effectively and there didn't seem to be any problems. However after about four months I noticed that I was continuously increasing the amount and frequency of the medication to achieve the pain relief that I originally received. I was now in a place that I have come to know as 'oxy hell'. My doctors did not understand the type of dependence that this drug creates and I found myself constantly worrying about how and when I would be able to refill or get a new script. I graduated to taking 200 milligrams a day and I woke up every morning with what I now know are withdrawal symptoms. Until I took my morning 'fix' I would shake uncontrollably and felt as if I would crawl out of my skin. My original condition, which started this mess, was dissipating and I knew that I was in big trouble after I "tried to reduce the Oxycontin gradually as my doctor had instructed. This left me in a state of failure and depression that was serious enough that I was contemplating actions that I don't care to remember.
I was now at the end of my rope. For some unknown reason while sitting at my desk one day I decided to go on the internet to look up Oxycontin to see if there was any additional information on this drug and what I found saved my life. Not only were there other people suffering as I was, but some of the stories were identical. This led me to search a little deeper when all of a sudden your web site popped up. I read with great interest the testimonials and treatment methods performed at your facility and how successful you have been.
I was so excited that there might be an answer, however there was one big problem; being Jewish how could I go to a treatment facility that advertises under the name Christian Detox.  After a great deal of reflection I decided to make the call. I am not an extremely religious person but I do believe in fate and that everything in life happens for a reason. Rose answered the phone and explained to me that your program was indeed a spiritual one however it would not be sacrilegious for me to undergo the treatment nor would you or your staff push anything unwanted upon your patients.
I was sick and needed help, once I figured this out nothing else mattered. My wife and I discussed the situation and we concluded that it was time to get on a plane and head to Florida. We arrived on Thursday and I was greeted by Rose at the hospital that afternoon. She immediately made me feel welcome and for the first time I finally found someone who understood my pain. Rose explained the procedure and continuously comforted me about my decision from a medical and religious standpoint.
After a few tests I met with Dr. Sponaugle. God puts people in your life for a reason and Rick Sponaugle has most certainly changed my life. The detox began on Friday morning and I really don't remember much after that until Saturday when I noticed that the sick feeling was gone. As I stated earlier only those affected by these drugs can comprehend the relief that I felt, I was free. Aside from a little diarrhea and feeling a little light headed I felt fine.  EMPHASIS ADDED
Saturday evening I was released from the hospital and went back to my hotel room for a couple of days of recuperation. It was this time that I really found out just how dedicated and inspirational Dr. Sponaugle is! We had several long discussions about life and spirituality over the phone, and yes even in my hotel room when the doctor stopped by to check on me.
Life is an amazing journey and until now God was always a question mark with me, but now I know that there is a bigger picture and I can't ignore it anymore. I can't begin to thank you and your staff enough for the kindness, understanding and guidance you have given me during our brief time together and because of your efforts I now have a life free of bondage and misery. I know we will continue to communicate with each other and we look forward to our visit with you in the spring. Until then I wish you and your family all the best, and if you ever need any additional testimony on your unbelievable and life changing work, please don't hesitate to call.
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1/11/2005
I wish I could repay each and everyone at Florida Detox who gave my family and myself back our lives that Oxycontin had taken from us! I was on Oxycontin for over five years. The dose had increased from 10mg to 80mg. Sixty 80mg pills only lasted about two weeks, I spent every dollar I could get to buy all I could find. I lost everything that I had and was ready to give up.  EMPHASIS ADDED
My wonderful wife, that I hurt and lost because of Oxycontin, found Florida Detox on the computer and sent an email asking for help. With the leadership of God, the knowledge he gave Dr. Sponaugle, his wife Kim and all the wonderful staff at Florida Detox, I am no longer using Oxycontin and will never need to use again. In three short weeks my life has changed so that it will please God so he can use me to help others. EMPHASIS ADDED
May God richly bless the work of Florida Detox
Johnny
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Dearest Dr. Sponaugle,
 I wanted to first, and foremost, thank you so much for your help, faith and incredible kindness. I began to feel great almost immediately (and yes, it turns out I did have food poisoning of all the nasty things! So sorry to scare you like that.) The work you do at Florida Detox is truly miraculous. You are on a path towards something wonderful! To be able to not only detoxify the brain, and relieve the misery of drug dependence but to also remove the incredible agony of withdrawal, craving, and soul-crushing stigma attached with drug use, is so remarkable in that you give that human being it's life back. Every person I spoke with in the waiting area were such lovely people, with such tragic stories. All the years of cruelty and wast that these people endured is so unacceptable. Most of your clients are grateful for the kindness and hope they recieve, but anyone with a background in medicine should be immediately excited by the neurochemistry behind it.
I feel like I've awakened from a numbing coma. I look better, feel better, have NO cravings for anything, and am starting to laugh with my family again. My quick mind has always been a gift that helped me stay alive, and I was unable to see how fast the darkness of drug addiction was taking it away. I feel reborn. I have long felt that I had a purpose in life. Perhaps that's why I have endured so much and survived so long. After enduring the agony of drug addiction, and meeting you, listening to you, and going through your program, I feel I have a new path. I have begun to pray again. I have begun to dream again. I feel I cannot rest knowing so many people suffer so horribly, and they feel there is nowhere to go, and hope is lost,. I cannot continue my old career when my eyes have been opened to the devastating waste of so many viable minds.  Emphasis added
I want to help you any way I can, perhaps in an even bigger role than an ICU RN. I am open to any need you have. I am not only a 12 year ICU/trauma veteran, but a quick learner, and a good speaker. Dr. Burd is living in a new home, with a new baby, and his wife's family...he has however, been blown away by the change in me. During our 1st session when I came home, he just kept looking at me and saying "Wow!", "Your eyes are so clear!", "You're so calm and self assured!". I have been speaking with him about the procedure, let him review your slides for both patient and caretaker, and he seems to be devouring the info. He even mentioned a young and progressive anesthesiologist over the pain clinic.
 Anyway, I look forward to seeing you, and your wonderful crew for my follow-up appointment on November 28th. I am also excited to hear your talk again.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Custead RN, BSN, CCRN
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I tried Traditional rehab  - Oxycontin and Norco
Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2006 2:03 am    Post subject: Recovery in Austin 

________________________________________
I was addicted to oxycontin and norco since approx 1998 due to chronic pain from regional complex pain syndrome. (am now prescribed a non addictive medication to control the pain)

In 2001 I tried Traditional rehab it was the most horrible experience.
It was hell. I thought I was going to die. I could not complete the program due to the horrible withdrawel and no one willing to try and help me.
I searched for many years to find an answer. 
I found it with Florida Detox. The detox itself is totally painless.
The understanding they have for the brain chemistry is truly amazing.
Dr. Sponaugle and his team are the most caring and compassionate
people you will ever meet.  Emphasis added
When I left Florida I was on 16 mg of suboxone I weaned off slowly -I am totally opiate free. 
The best thing about Florida Detox is their individual programs on the after care.
I can't thank them enough and I hope anyone reading this has seeked their help or will seek their help to get their lives back.
Thanks again
Scott
08-01-05 10:53 PM

Somni-rific

Re: Rapid Detox and other ways to Detox. 
Please Listen up - I've kicked all forms of opiates at least 8
times..Detox under Anesthesia is NOT a bad thing if you go to the
right person! Please read on. I know its long, but I promise its worth
it.

I kicked heroin & Oxy (a 20pill 80mgs/day habit) & went through Detox
Under Anesthesia.
There IS a difference between rapid detox & UROD.
The facility that I went to was incredible. They did it in a hospital
(the procedure) because of the immediate access to anything that may be
needed, plus having an anesthesiologist on staff & every med you could
need.  Anyway - my heroin habit was 1,000/day, IV.yep, all of my
inheritance down the arm I'm afraid. . .
Anyway, its called Florida Detox, in Tarpon Springs, which is close to Tampa. The
treatment you receive is phenomenal..they put you to sleep, then run
an IV from you to a bag of liquid Revia (brand name of Naltrexone) to
displace the opiates from their receptors. It was all done in an
hour, though when I woke up I felt like it had been 24 hours or more!
98% of my WD symptoms- GONE. I had a little weakness in my legs. EMPHASIS ADDED
The nurses came by every 15 minutes to make sure I was OK & if I needed
anything - including meds - I could ask. I had a remote control nurse
buzzer as well! I had an IV in my hand where they would inject the
liquid valium ( I suffer from severe panic attacks, outside of
addiction)), and the pain meds (toradol) went in my butt, since its an
IM shot. 
Anyway, within 1 hour of waking up, I was up & walking around
the hospital! I had none of that anxiety, no diarrhea, no craving at
ALL for anything and MY biggest blessing - NO pain at ALL in my legs,
lower back or anywhere else! My legs were just a bit wobbly, a ittle
weak. They had me on & kept me on some pretty strong meds for the
first few days or so to make me as comfortable as I could be. I was
feeling absolutely 100% within 2 days. I couldnt BELIEVE it.  EMPHASIS ADDED

Its only 1 doctor who does the procedures, Dr. Sponaugle..he's
been doing them since I think 1995, he done thousands, tens of
thousands - and not ONE person has DIED or had complications. He has
perfected the art of this - he knows very well what he is doing.
There were 3 other girls there that I made friends with - one from there, had
Lupus and was coming off MS- IR & Ultram. One was from Chicago & was
coming off 120mg of methadone & heroin. The 3rd from Minnesota was
coming off of heroin & methadone too. They all had the same results as
I did..we were all so happy, we felt so free. We couldnt believe that
in 2 days, we went from being addicted to these substances, to feeling
100% and having NO desire for any opiate! We cried - it was truly a
miracle.
DrumminBassGirl@hotmail.com.
Best of luck,
J
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I had forgotten how alive I am  - Oxycontin and Lortab
 
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2006 5:27 pm    Post subject: Oxycontin 

________________________________________
I should put more thought into this,but then I have thought about how incredible it is to have my life back constantly since Florida Detox helped me beginning Sept.26th, 2005.
I had been addicted to Lortab for about 4 years, decided oxycontin would be "healthier" tried it, fell in "love", found a source, and proceeded to kill my spirit, soul and my body was soon to follow.
I had spent time and money in 4 trad. rehab centers, felt the same everytime I got out, wanted more oxy! Really thought I had crossed that line that there is no coming back from, as I could see the "time proven methods of recovery" were never going to work for me! Worst feeling of my life! Emphasis added
Knew I had to try something radically different, researched extensively until I decided to try Florida Detox. I think the "brain chemistry disorder" theory was what sold me at first, then spending time with DOC and Brenda sealed my choice.
I was so far gone that when I recieved a script for oxycontin(for chronic pain) I felt I had won an award. I cannot imagine anything worse than addiction, perhaps seeing the one you love destroying themselves is close.
Anyway, I spare the remaining details, but I have been opiate free for almost 5 months, and the last month has been the best. No desire to ever go back to "that place". I had forgotten how alive I am and what an incredible place the world is to live in.  Emphasis added
Saying thank you Florida Detox seems very understated, but thank you for my life.
God bless,
LionFan.

Travis - Oxycontin, Percocet, Lortab
September 8, 2004
I am a 44 year old family man that battled chronic low back pain for three years. Two of those years I needed pain medication to get through the day. Finally I decided to have surgery to replace a degenerative and herniated disk in my low back.
Before my surgery, I began to feel that I was losing control of the medication. I took Oxycontin, Percocet, and Lortab, hoping to find something that I could manage. I tried many times to stop, only to find myself taking more. It was a battle that I could not win alone. Emphasis added
After successful back surgery, I advised my doctors that I was addicted to the medication and could not get off on my own. I told them that I had found Florida Detox and asked for their recommendation. My doctor spoke with Dr. Sponaugle and was VERY comfortable with the facilities and procedure.
What I found there was much more than I ever expected. You see, I didn't want to be a Drug Addict. When I realized that I was addicted, it became a moral issue and that made it that much worse.
I went to Florida Detox expecting to be treated like an "addict". What I found was some of the most wonderful and caring people that I have ever met in my life. My back surgery cost $80,000 and I was treated like a "number" at the hospital. At Florida Detox I was treated with care and respect. It was an experience that I would not trade. They treat addiction as a medical condition and they are passionate about it!
It has only been two weeks since my detox and I feel great. I own my own business and did go back to work the following Monday, without counting my pills! I have my life back. Emphasis added
I thank God everyday for Dr. Sponaugle and his staff. I also thank God for what he has taken away from me; but most importantly, I thank God for what he has left me!
Thank you Florida Detox!
Travis
 
(The following Florida detox patients posted testimonies at www.floridadetox/forum and can be emailed, from the forum )
Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:34 pm    Post subject: Can I successfully detox from LARGE amount of oxycontin 

The answer is yes!. During my stay at Florida Detox I spoke with other patients and between all of us I can safely say I believe any addiction to drug's and alcohol is treatable at Florida Detox. If you are someone that is seeking help, this is the place.
I did alot of research before I made the decision to go to Florida Detox. I called a few rapid detox centers and not one of them showed the compassion,understanding and care that Jane from Florida Detox did. When I told her the amount of opiate's I was using per day she didn't judge me or change in any way.
Through a 15 year span I had been on Darvocette, Vicodan,Percocet, Fentanyl Duragesic patches, fentynal lolipops(actiq) , Stadol nasal spray, Methadone,Morphine,Lortab,and Oxycontin. By the end of this nightmare I was crushing between 12,000 and 16,000 mg's per day of the Oxycontin along with using 8-10 fentynal lolipops 1600 mcg (actiq). Emphasis added
The day I had the procedure done was a day I will never forget. I went to the hospital in the a.m and put on a hospital gown. The next thing I remembered was going to sleep and waking up a new person!!!!. I thought for sure when I came to I would have had some bad feelings seeing I was on such large dosages. Here I lay in a bed for the first time in 15 years without any opiates in my system, it was the best feeling in the world. Everything was clearer and brighter. I have read other testimonial's where some say they were a little groggy afterwards but if that's all I felt I welcomed it.  Emphasis added
What I would like everyone to know is that from the first phone call to my being discharged I was treated not like a drug addict or a $$ sign but with respect and only the best of care anyone could ask for and then some. Now it's been almost 11 month's and I feel great mentally and I do have some pain, but it is tolerable pain. Emphasis added
If anyone has any questions or I can be of some help PLEASE P.M ME OR E-MAIL ME. Especially if you are seeking help!!. I thank ALL OF YOU at Florida Detox for giving me my life back. Thank god we have people like Jane,Brenda,Gary,Dr. Sponaugle,Barb,Dennis and Im sorry for the names I have left out but there are so many of you that put the pieces of the puzzle in place.

My Best To All,

Mark vettemg@yahoo.com <vettemg@yahoo.com>

Dan
Graduate

Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Posts: 3
Location: FL Posted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 2:49 am    Post subject:

________________________________________
My Friend you have looked in the right place if you wish to get off of the Oxycontin. I know you read the reply from Mark, & Ill spare us both from repeating the truth he spoke about FL D & Their Staff ALL OF THEM ! They are nothing short of first class.

I can tell you that they deoxed me from oxycontin (too) 10 weeks ago thats 2.5 months and I never had any withdraws, cravings, or any adverse effects other than being a sluggish for a week or two and that was bearable. Although I think that is pretty darn good for a body that was eating 1000 mgm of Oxycontin a day for a little over 5 years.  Emphasis added

So Ill keep it short and sweet, go for it friend, it is well worth getting the life back your missing and you know your missing it. I sure was, it gets to a point where its no fun anymore. Life is still there, just go get it.

If you would like to hear more about my experience of the detox just let me know and Ill help any I can, just let me know. e mail me back here and we will talk all you want. GOOD LUCK !!!! There is hope I swear. FL Detox can get you off the opiate's, compassionately !!!!

Your Friend,
Dan

 
Bruiser
patient

Joined: 30 Mar 2006
Posts: 4
Location: Birmingham, AL Posted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:10 am    Post subject: My time with Florida Detox

________________________________________
Hi.. Just thought I'd post my thoughts on the forum. I recently detoxed off of 1250mg/day of OxyContin, Percocets, Lortabs, basically whatever I could get my hands on.
 It all got started by some lower back pain that I still have after the detox, but I can tell you that my pain level when I was on the Oxy (when coming off) was a 9 and probably about a 4 on the Oxy.. Now I am working with a 4 or a 5 with no meds and have been on buprenorphine at low doses to manage the existing pain. I take it 3 times per day and it keeps me well better taken care of than the Oxy ever did without half the side effects, but the cool thing is the bup doesn't give me any head buzz and am more alert and myself and really don't care for a buzz anymore, now that my ADD has been treated properly and I am happy for the first time in five years. EMPHASIS ADDED
I found out that I was self medicating ADD, depression (unipolar), and the pain all with the oxy, which is how I got to such high doses, that and I could afford to go that long.. I actually started trying to get treatment at about 700mg/day, but things didn't work out as planned and it increased until I finally decided to go to Florida Detox.
It was the most amazing experience I've ever had during any kind of surgical procedure. They rolled me in my hospital room Wed. morning and put me to sleep and next thing I know it's about 11:30am Thurs. morning and I am waking up and alert for the first time. I woke up a few times when I still had the catheter and the intubation in my throat and it freaked me out at first, but the anesthesiologist just walked over and put something in my IV and that was all I remember of the procedure.
Post Procedue, I felt like a new man, even just having awakened from the anesthesia. Normally, just due to the anesthesia, I feel like crap and can't function for the first few days. I think they are serious when they say they put you under a light anesthesia.
For me, and most people think I work for FL detox or am an actor or some BS like that, but I honestly didn't have the first bad withdrawl symptom while I was there, and what little bit I did have (chill bumps, little anxiety) they would give you something to treat it and knew what you were about to ask before you even asked. They were great people all the way around. I've never had such a good experience at any docs office.
EMPHASIS ADDED
You may get a little impatient on intake day, as it takes all day, but you will find out you would spend 3 days in orientation if that's what it took to get through this detox.
Dr. Sponaugle has pioneered his method and as far as I know it is the safest available RAAD procedure. It says a lot when someone can wake up from anesthesia and feel better than they have in 5 years.
I know a lot of it was mental, just to have the burden of such a large habit off of my shoulders and not have to have a pill I had to chase all the time to keep myself normal and able to go on about my responsibilites.
Dr. S and his whole staff, and all the nurses on the 7th floor at Hellen Ellis are the best there are and they aren't up there because it's somewhere they got transferred and stuck. They all love their jobs and wouldn't trade them for anything, from what they all told me. I hugged all their necks before they left because they were so good to me.. They never treated me like a drug addict or anything.. They look at in a whole new light and I hope that light gets projected around the medical community soon, because Dr. S really has a dedication and they will take the time to make sure that you are as happy and as healthy as you can be when you leave their care.
They are really great people and I have some more great stories to go along with my detox and my follow up that I will post later. It's a little late at night now, but you can contact FL detox and talk to Steve Sponaugle and he will get you in touch with me if you want to talk to someone who has been through it.
I had hypertension and some other medical problems and some of them have cleared up since detox. It's really a miracle center and the great thing is that everyone there wants to be there and wants to make it better for every next patient that comes through those doors. It blew my mind and still does..
I have followed Dr. S's advise about going to see certain docs for my back and they have worked wonders with me too, so you can't say that he's in it for the money, because the traditional rehabs that don't treat the underlying condition are nearly $20,000/mo. at least and some require a 2 mo. stay for Oxy.. I just can't say enough good things about the folks at FL Detox and they will prosper with time because they are doing such a good thing with pride and compassion.. They deserve it all...
_________________
May God be with each and every one of you to make your life better and your day brighter! God Bless FL Detox and Dr. Sponaugle's wonderful staff!!

Mick238
Looking for Recovery

Joined: 15 Nov 2007
Posts: 1
Location: Pennsylvania  Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:41 am    Post subject: Truely a miracle...

________________________________________
My heart is so full of gratitude and amazement, I hardly know where to begin. I do know that I have a God-given duty/privilege to share my story here and anywhere else I can with the hope of helping others. Time and space make it impossible to share my entire journey with you so I'll start at the end and what ultimately transformed into a joyous beginning.
After engaging in one type of addictive activity or another since my adolescence, a chain of events were set into motion in my life in 1997 and in the lives of my three siblings. Although I toyed with virtually every substance at one time or another, up until this point, alcohol was my primary drug of choice.
The chain to which I refer was a mind-numbing amount of personal loss. Both my mother and father had recently retired and at their children's behest were encouraged to undergo thorough physicals to insure a happy healthy retirement. Or, so we thought. Within two weeks of each other both were diagnosed with lung cancer. As my siblings and I struggled with this reality and the endless Dr's appointments. chemotherapy and surgeries my brother-in-law (in reality he was my brother) was diagnosed with Mixoid Lyposarcoma, an extremely rare aggressive cancer with virtually no treatment options.
Words don't do justice to how we each felt as we watched as each of our loved ones suffered immeasurably til finally succumbing to these brutal diseases. Between 1997-2003 we lost our parents, Michael, my sister's beloved husband, our dear grandmother, five close aunts and uncles, my dear friend Lou and finally my beloved German Shepherd BO.
My heart and my mind were shattered. In the months that followed, I simply did not know what to do with the freight train of emotions that plagued my every waking moment. Too many goodbyes too quickly. I was not and am not looking for pity. Even under the stressful circumstances, I was always aware that others in the world were suffering more than me. I simply wanted my peace of mind back. The overload of emotions running rampant in my mind eventually manifest physically in the form of severe insomnia. "When the mind suffers, the body cries out". My body was weeping uncontrollably.
I felt as if I was on the verge of a psychotic break when I was offered an Oxycontin to help me sleep. It calmed my mind, and I slept the first full night in months. It WAS the answer I was looking for. During the "honeymoon period" with this drug, things were great. I once again was able to focus on my work, socialize and sleep. I also was able to stop drinking which at that point was only adding to my agony. Emphasis added
But all good things must come to an end. By the time I became frightened of my growing dependency, it was too late. I literally tried a hundred times to stop in every way imagineable, but the withdrawals were insurmountable. I began to realize that others were seeing changes in my behavior. I was completely out of control with my addiction (1600 to 2400mgs/day) and now faced all of my unresolved grief again in the midst of this added agony. I didn't care if I died. Surprisingly, I never consciously contemplated suicide, however, I often told the Lord if he took me while I slept, that would be just fine with me. I didn't know where to turn. In my professsional life, I am a CEO, so my subordinates were afraid to confront me. That left me and my God. Emphasis added
On November 1st of 2007, I stepped into my home office at 11:30 P.M. I had no thoughts, other than to check the stock market reports. Out of nowhere, I Googled rapid detox and Florida Detox happened to be the first hit. My nature is to explore many options before making a decision, but not in this case. I was drawn by spirit and I knew it. The following morning I made the phone call and scheduled for the following week. I tended to my personal and business matters.
That Sunday I got on a plane by myself (this was my personal choice, my fiancee' arrived on Thursday when I was discharged as a caregiver which was necessary) flew to a place I had never been and met with a group of people I had never known. I brought with me an unwavering committment to get well and God by my side. I always had a strong belief in God, even through the hell of my addiction, but none quite like now. The events that had and were unfolding for me were spirit in motion. I fill up even as I type this because I KNOW it to be true. God's love for me and us all is perfect beyond our understanding and is available to us all if we simply ask. "Ask and you shall receive". I asked.
I was detoxed in the hands of wonderful loving people who are missionaries more than they are hospital employees. I am ten weeks out now. My heart runs over with gratitude and love. I have my spirit back. I want to run to the mountaintop and scream "There is Hope!". I will not say that it has been without some level of discomfort, particularly for someone like me who was using lethal doses, but it is truely miraculous. I am certain that had I gone to a traditional rehab, I would still be on my knees in agony, or the more likely scenario, a full relapse.
The work being done at Florida Detox MUST become the medical protocol for addiction! If it does not, millions will suffer needlesssly, relapsing time and time again.
Rick Sponaugle is a pioneer. Not only has he perfected minimizing the suffering of withdrawal, he has significantly narrowed the gap of annhidonia (joylessness) that always follows drug/alcohol cessation.
I pray that my testimony here may save at least one life and hopefully many more. If there is anyway I can help anyone reading this that is still in pain, please e-mail me, or contact Florida Detox for information to contact me.
In God's Love, Mick.
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A parent who lost a son due to Oxycontin, has started a website, as a memorial to his deceased son, in an attempt to prevent further Oxycontin deaths. By 06/11/04, there were 365 names of deceased Oxycontin victims posted on the memorial page, at http://www.oxyabusekills.com/victims.html
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OXYCONTIN ABUSE

(click to enlarge)

www.nida.nih.gov/Testimony/3-9-05Testimony.html
About 5% of 12th graders reported using Oxycontin for non-medical purposes, and about 9.3 % of 12th graders, or nearly one in 10, reported similar use of Vicodin in the past year, making Vicodin one of the most commonly abused drugs in this population.
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Oxycontin is produced as a time release Oxycodone, with pain relief lasting approximately 12 hours. Unfortunately, Oxycontin is frequently abused by addicts who intentionally chew the tablets to bypass the time release coating and obtain a brief, intense euphoric high.  Talk Radio Commentator, Rush Limbaugh remains the most prominent personality forced to reveal his Oxycontin dependency.
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 April 2003
The Agony and the Ecstasy
How the OxyContin crackdown hurts patients in pain
By Melinda Ammann

William E. Hurwitz spent much of last year trying to find new doctors for his patients. It wasn’t easy, since physicians often are reluctant to treat chronic pain. They worry that repeated prescriptions for large doses of narcotic painkillers will attract unwanted attention from the government. That anxiety was the main reason Hurwitz had ended up treating so many people for pain -- about 300 patients suffering from cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative disc disease, diabetic complications, and other painful conditions. Some of them had searched for months or years, growing increasingly desperate, before finding him. Many lived hundreds of miles from his Northern Virginia office.
Hurwitz’s retirement was not exactly voluntary. A veteran of battles with state regulators and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the 57-year-old internist saw more trouble on the horizon. After learning that he had been targeted by a federal grand jury investigation of prescription drug diversion, he decided to gradually transfer his patients rather than put them at risk of suddenly losing access to pain medication.
Hurwitz was still working to match patients with new doctors in November, when the DEA raided his home and office. "There are patients in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and Florida for whom possible referrals are needed," he said in a written statement. In the raid, DEA agents "took patient files, financial and other records, my cell phone, and miscellaneous items. They also copied the hard drives on many of my computers and took my server, as they did not have the equipment to copy this in the office. Fortunately, I had backup files and was able to re-establish my computer network and resume patient care."
But the raid reinforced Hurwitz’s concern about his patients’ future. "The stigma that these people suffer, both as pain patients on opioid medications in general and as former patients of accused doctors in particular, tends to foreclose most opportunities for effective continuing care," he said last August in a written statement that announced he would be closing his practice. Last summer one of his patients told The Washington Post, "If I go to a doctor and mention [Hurwitz’s] name, they won’t even touch me. All I’m concerned about is getting rid of this excruciating pain." Another said: "I don’t know what I’m going to do. While the criminals who are diverting the drugs get jailed, the innocent patients get the death penalty."

Facing the prospect of criminal prosecution after two regulatory actions against him, Hurwitz certainly understood why doctors are leery of pain patients. Hurwitz lost his state medical license and his federal prescribing privileges in 1996 after the Virginia Board of Medicine and the DEA accused him of excessive prescribing. (See "No Relief in Sight," January 1997.) More than 50 of his patients testified on his behalf at the board’s hearing, and pain experts came to his defense, describing the large doses of narcotics he prescribed as reasonable and appropriate. His Virginia license was restored in 1997, and in 1998 he resumed his practice after the DEA reinstated the registration that allows doctors to prescribe controlled substances.
Four years later, however, Hurwitz was giving up. "These aggressive and ill-informed prosecutions convey a message of intimidation to doctors and indifference to the plight of patients in pain," he said in his August statement. "Not even the most honest and competent doctors can practice pain medicine with any assurance of safety for themselves or continuity of care for their patients."

The OxyContin "Epidemic"

The focus of the investigation that finally convinced Hurwitz to stop practicing medicine was OxyContin, a drug that in recent years has been portrayed as a seductive, deadly menace. The news media have advertised its "heroin-like high," generating interest among drug users and alarm among politicians. U.S. Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.), who held hearings on the subject in August 2001, asserted that "OxyContin is to prescription drug pain relievers what jet fuel is to unleaded gasoline." That year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) slapped a "black box warning" onto OxyContin declaring that it has "an abuse potential similar to morphine." The DEA has identified OxyContin as "a major drug of concern," putting it alongside Ecstasy, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Attention from the government has triggered more press coverage, which in turn has egged on drug warriors who are convinced we are in the midst of an "OxyContin epidemic."

For Hurwitz’s former patients and other people in pain, OxyContin is not an agent of a metaphorical disease; it is a medication that helps relieve the suffering caused by their all-too-real illnesses and injuries. Introduced by Purdue Pharma in 1995, OxyContin is a 12-hour, timed-release form of oxycodone, a synthetic opioid that has long been available in products such as Percocet, Percodan, and Tylox. OxyContin quickly became the most prescribed narcotic on Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (the most tightly regulated category of medication), with about 7.2 million prescriptions in 2001. It was a godsend for patients suffering from moderate to severe chronic pain, who could use it to get steady relief throughout the day.
Because some versions of OxyContin contained large doses of oxycodone (up to 160 milligrams), unmixed with analgesics such as acetaminophen or aspirin, it appealed to drug users looking for a handy way to get high. They discovered they could get all the oxycodone at once by crushing the tablets and snorting the powder or mixing it with water and injecting it. The crackdown triggered by such nonmedical use has made doctors wary of OxyContin. "While complete data for 2002 [are] not available," Purdue Pharma reports, "the growth in the number of prescriptions written has dropped compared to 2001." The government’s response to OxyContin abuse also has increased doctors’ apprehension about prescribing narcotics in general. The upshot is unnecessary suffering by patients who have trouble getting adequate pain treatment.
The consequences of an unreasonable aversion to narcotics, which pain experts call "opiophobia," can be severe, even deadly. In a May 2001 report to the American Society for Action on Pain (ASAP), a Kentucky physician said a former patient, a paraplegic with severe chronic pain, had killed himself. The man’s new doctor, alarmed by official warnings about OxyContin, had drastically reduced his dose, leaving him in agony.
Skip Baker, ASAP’s president, has collected petition signatures from thousands of pain patients concerned about the loss of effective treatment. "Many of them mention that they were taken off OxyContin because of the ‘bad press’ about it after having been on it for years," says Baker, who suffers from chronic pain caused by ankylosing spondylitis and fibromyalgia. "It has really been a crisis for us. Even my good pain doctor will not prescribe OxyContin, even though he knows it’s the best pain medicine ever made. He admits that it’s all because of how law enforcement’s efforts have made it look so bad that doctors dare not prescribe it."

Looking Over Doctors’ Shoulders

The negative publicity surrounding OxyContin has aggravated a longstanding problem. Beginning in the 1970s, studies repeatedly have found that pain is undertreated even in hospitals and nursing homes, even with patients on the verge of death. Last July an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed that people with cancer still suffer needlessly from pain.
One member of the NIH panel, Dr. Paul Frame of Rochester University’s School of Medicine, said restrictions aimed at preventing nonmedical use were partly to blame for the undertreatment of pain. "Sometimes doctors don’t want to go to the hassle of prescribing a triplicate drug," he said at a press conference, referring to the special forms required by some states for strong painkillers. "They may decide to use something less effective instead."
In response to concerns about OxyContin abuse, states are monitoring painkiller prescriptions even more closely. Virginia, for example, does not require triplicate forms, but starting this year it will track prescriptions for Schedule II drugs electronically, with a special focus on OxyContin. Lawmakers such as Rep. Greenwood have suggested establishing a similar monitoring program at the national level.
Privacy concerns aside, such efforts deter legitimate treatment as well as diversion for nonmedical use because it is impossible to verify pain objectively.
Although physicians can take medical histories, check records, perform examinations, and do tests to confirm an injury or an illness, they ultimately have to decide whether to believe a patient who says he is suffering. Knowing that their judgment may be second-guessed by state or federal regulators, with consequences ranging from disruption of their practices to professional ruin, they naturally are reluctant to err on the side of trusting the patient.
"Pain patients are now treated like common street junkies when they turn to their local emergency rooms for help," says Tammy Alender, one of the patients who signed the ASAP petition. Alender, who suffers chronic back pain despite surgery aimed at correcting the problem, is anxious to get the word out that opioids must remain available to pain patients despite the potential for abuse. "They struggle to find adequate amounts of ongoing opiate medications to treat their valid conditions," she says. "To punish the masses of valid chronic pain patients just because of the actions of the few addicts out there is insane."
The American Pain Foundation estimates that 50 million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain, much of it undertreated. As of April 2002, the DEA counted 146 "verified" deaths involving OxyContin -- cases where OxyContin was the source of oxycodone found in someone’s body but not necessarily the cause of death. Even in these cases, the subjects usually had taken alcohol or other drugs in addition to oxycodone. But let us accept the DEA’s number for the sake of argument. The deaths it attributes to OxyContin over a period of two years represent just one-third of the deaths linked to acetaminophen in a single year. Yet the DEA has not declared Tylenol a "major drug of concern."

The Threat of Prison

To understand how the recklessness of a few OxyContin users can threaten the welfare of millions, consider the case of James Graves, a Florida physician who was sentenced in February 2001 to 63 years in federal prison. Graves was convicted of manslaughter and racketeering after four of his patients overdosed on OxyContin. It was the first time in U.S. history that a physician was found guilty of manslaughter for prescribing a self-administered medication that led to a patient’s death. It probably won’t be the last.
The racketeering conviction was based on the state’s argument that Graves used his business for ongoing criminal activity by knowingly and recklessly prescribing opioids to patients without a medical purpose. Graves, who believes patients have a right to treatment for their pain, says he trusted their self-reports. His attorney, Michael Gibson, pleads a lack of technology to confirm the existence and severity of pain. "You can do an X-ray or an MRI," he says, "but it’s very difficult to determine the level of pain. You might as well flip a coin looking at an X-ray."
Gibson says the DEA declined to get involved in the case because there was insufficient evidence of intent. He argues that the evidence to support the manslaughter charges was particularly weak. Two of the four patients were injecting OxyContin, which is never directed by prescription. Another took OxyContin prescribed by Graves as well as narcotics procured through his girlfriend. The fourth died of a multiple overdose including Xanax, Lortab, and a muscle relaxer as well as OxyContin. "Where does society assess fault?" Gibson asks. "When do you start making individual patients responsible for their actions?"
The prosecution argued that Graves was not sufficiently skeptical about his patients’ reports of pain, and perhaps he wasn’t. Patients who testified for the prosecution said they were not thoroughly examined. The prosecution also argued that Graves kept insufficient medical records, including notes on patient exams. But the precedent of a manslaughter conviction for what may have amounted to nothing more than excessive credulousness is apt to give pause even to doctors who are models of thoroughness. Gibson worries that the case will make doctors less likely to trust their patients, especially those with any history of addiction. He argues that "doctors should practice medicine, not law enforcement" -- a refrain echoed by patient advocates such as William Hurwitz and the National Migraine Association.
Graves’ conviction may signal a trend toward holding doctors criminally accountable for their patient’s self-inflicted injuries. In July 2001 West Palm Beach physician Denis Deonarine was charged with first-degree murder after one of his patients overdosed on OxyContin. Prosecutors argue that Deonarine is responsible for the death despite the fact that the drug was self-administered by a patient with a history of substance abuse whose body at the time of death contained significant levels of alcohol and tranquilizers as well as OxyContin. At least one other doctor in Florida and one in California face manslaughter charges based on their patients’ OxyContin overdoses.
In addition to lax doctors, OxyContin critics blame the drug’s manufacturer for marketing it too aggressively and not paying enough attention to its abuse potential. Thrown on the defensive by these charges, Purdue Pharma has been bending over backward to cooperate with regulators. In May 2001 the company suspended sales of its 160-milligram tablet, designed for patients with end-stage cancer. Two months later, it praised the FDA’s intimidating new warning label and distributed a "Dear Healthcare Professional" letter to explain the change and highlight the risks of diversion and abuse.
The company also has promised to develop a more abuse-resistant formulation of OxyContin within the next three years. It is working on a version containing naltrexone, an opiate antagonist that would block oxycodone’s euphoric effects once the pill was crushed. Although an abuse-proof alternative that retains OxyContin’s effectiveness for treating pain has not yet been developed, some members of Congress want the FDA to require such a mechanism. So far the FDA has stood by its policy of approving Schedule II drugs without demanding that they incorporate antagonists. Such a requirement would further lengthen the drug approval process and could undermine the effectiveness of painkillers.

Hillbilly Heroin

The demands for immediate and drastic regulatory action are not surprising given the overheated press coverage of OxyContin abuse, which by the summer of 2001 had become the Next Big Drug Story. "It crept down the Appalachian Mountains from Maine to Alabama," began an August 2001 report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "sending hundreds of victims to morgues, hospitals and rehab clinics." Time blamed OxyContin for "a blizzard of a crime wave" cropping up in "pockets of the nation." The Cincinnati Enquirer called it the "heroin of the Midwest." Florida’s Port St. Lucie News dubbed it the "new crack." Other media outlets suggested "hillbilly heroin" and "poor man’s heroin."
There was a measure of truth to some of these epithets. "This is an isolated area where it’s hard for people to get real street drugs," says Phil Fisher, head of the Appalachian Pain Foundation, a West Virginia–based group trying to educate the medical community and public about the benefits of OxyContin. "OxyContin is not a street drug in most places." As a legal prescription medicine, OxyContin also may appeal to drug users who are leery of black-market heroin -- especially if they’ve seen the newspaper, magazine, and TV stories that describe how great the high is and explain how to achieve it.
A "former OxyContin abuser" interviewed by ABC in March 2002 said the drug gave him "an immediate warm feeling, feeling of well-being, almost -- I don’t want to say godliness, but a feeling there’s nothing I can’t handle." A July 2001 New York Times Magazine story, "The Alchemy of OxyContin," put it this way: "As a pill it brings potent pain relief. As a powder it brings euphoria. It takes about five seconds to effect the transformation -- and not much longer to create an addict." Similarly hyperbolic reporting has been featured by other prominent media outlets, including Time, Newsweek, CBS, and even MTV, which aired "I’m Hooked on OxyContin" as an episode of its True Life series in 2001.
OxyContin was compared to heroin so many times that some people concluded it should be treated the same way. After James Graves’ conviction, West Virginia state Sen. Truman Chafin suggested reclassifying OxyContin as a Schedule I drug, which would make it illegal for any purpose. Pain patients breathed a sigh of relief when other state officials, doctors, and pharmacists dismissed the idea. "To prevent terminally ill patients who are in need of legitimate pain management from obtaining a drug that effectively relieves their pain is not the answer," said the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy.
Yet increased scrutiny of prescriptions is bound to have a chilling effect on doctors’ decisions about which patients to treat and how. In addition to monitoring at the state level, the DEA requested $24.6 million and 133 new positions for 2003 to strengthen its diversion control efforts. The agency has drawn up a "National Action Plan" targeting key sources of OxyContin and other opioids, including medical professionals it considers unscrupulous as well as doctor shoppers, prescription forgers, and pharmacy robbers.
"The growing national plague of Oxy addictions, overdoses, and deaths caused by the illegal activity of some doctors, pharmacists, and patients has been focused on like a laser beam by this office and other U.S. attorneys’ offices," Gene Rossi, a federal prosecutor in Alexandria, Virginia, told The Washington Post in August. "If any person falls into one of those three categories, our office will try our best to root that person out like the Taliban. Stay tuned."
The menace depicted by drug warriors like Rossi bears little resemblance to the medicine that helps patients keep agony at bay. Thomas Rogers, for instance, is a healthy 31-year-old man -- healthy, that is, except for the degenerative disc disease that gives him chronic back pain. He has opted to forgo spinal lumbar fusions, which would involve the removal of natural discs and the insertion of rods or screws in his back, in the hope that a less invasive procedure will soon be available. His pain has been treated effectively with OxyContin by an Atlanta-based physician for three years.
"I would give anything to have a healthy, strong back like most 31-year-olds have," Rogers says, "but this is the way things are for me, and thankfully OxyContin has given me some sort of a life since I’ve been taking it....As long as I have a good doctor who understands and science can produce meds like OxyContin, life is livable. I could not live with the constant pain in my lower back without the benefits of this drug."
Gerald M. Aronoff, medical director of the North American Pain and Disability Group, has written several books and articles about chronic pain management. In his view, OxyContin is an excellent sustained-action opioid that has gotten a bad rap. "We’re in a mode where everyone’s picking on opioids," Aronoff says. "They are not terrible drugs....They have a wider margin of safety than the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs" such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, because they carry less risk to the liver and the gastrointestinal tract. Removing them from the market would mean a "major step backward in our ability to manage pain," he says.

Addicted to Pain Relief

Much of the concern about OxyContin stems from a misunderstanding of addiction. Aronoff observes that people mistakenly equate addiction with tolerance (the need for higher doses to achieve the same effect) and so-called physical dependence, changes in the body that lead to withdrawal symptoms if the drug is abruptly withdrawn. Anyone who takes an opioid like OxyContin every day will eventually develop tolerance and physical dependence, but addiction requires an attachment to the drug’s psychoactive effects. "Addiction is characterized by the repeated, compulsive use of a substance despite adverse social, psychological, and/or physical consequences," says Aronoff. "Addiction is often, but not always, accompanied by physical dependence, withdrawal syndrome, and tolerance."
Conversely, people who take OxyContin and other opioids for pain may develop tolerance and physical dependence, but that doesn’t mean they’re addicted. Several studies conducted during the last few decades have found that patients who receive narcotics for pain rarely end up seeking the drug for nonmedical reasons. "One study found that only 4 out of about 12,000 patients who were given opioids for acute pain became addicted," the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports. "In a study of 38 chronic pain patients, most of whom received opioids for four to seven years, only two patients became addicted, and both had a history of drug abuse."
Geov Parrish, a Seattle-based writer who has been taking OxyContin for seven years, pokes fun at the confusion about addiction perpetuated by media hype. "OxyContin is a narcotic, and I am ‘addicted’ to it, in the sense that if I don’t take it I’d get nasty withdrawal symptoms," he writes on WorkingForChange.com. "In terms of whether my body would be unhappy if I didn’t ingest it, I’m also ‘addicted’ to a number of other prescribed drugs, and to food, water, oxygen, and my sweetie. Addiction is an overrated concept."
Parrish says he tried various pain medications after an organ transplant left him with debilitating pain, but oxycodone is the only one that works. "If I weren’t on it, I couldn’t function from day to day," he writes. "And for many, many people with cancer, AIDS, and other serious ailments, it’s the difference between a relatively normal life and day after day of pure hell."
Thomas Rogers concedes that his 12-hour OxyContin dose has doubled, from 10 to 20 milligrams, since he began taking the drug three years ago. He is also well aware that he would have to go off OxyContin gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms. But he doesn’t consider himself an addict. "People like me who suffer every day aren’t concerned about addiction or being labeled as druggies," he says.
"We just want out of pain, and OxyContin will do it when we are being treated by good doctors. Is a diabetic person who is dependent upon insulin considered an addict? Are people who take OxyContin any different? We depend on a drug to help our pain so that we don’t get depressed and suicidal. I personally don’t like waking up every single morning hurting and knowing that it may very well be this way the rest of my life."
Rogers resents anti-OxyContin crusaders who gloss over or ignore the drug’s benefits for pain patients like him. "Their backs probably don’t hurt," he says. "No matter what kind of drug is ever produced, there will always be people who will abuse it and give it a bad name. These people never represent the thousands of legitimate patients like me who are not addicted but depend on it for some kind of life, as pain-free as possible."

Melinda Ammann is a writer living in Japan.
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The War on Drugs increasingly limits physicians from prescribing adequate pain medication to chronic pain sufferers. Reason Magazine published an insightful, objective analysis of the increased suffering produced by attempts to reduce illegal diversion of Oxycontin. Their April, 2003 article can be viewed at http://www.reason.com/0304/fe.ma.the.shtml
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State and federal governments are increasing their efforts to intercept and reduce prescription pain medication abuse:

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION PROSECUTING INTERNET CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE SALES Obtaining pharmaceutical medications over the internet, without establishing an actual doctor- patient relationship, including a physical examination is illegal. Although many patients obtain pain killers and tranquilizers, on the internet, increased law enforcement investigations increase risks of obtaining controlled substances, via the internet.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION
September 21, 2005
Dallas, Texas

You’ve most likely been spammed by them. Websites advertising a full medicine cabinet of drugs with no prescriptions needed, no waiting, and no hassle. It sounds too good to be true—and it is.
What these rogue websites peddle is illegal. And today, with Operation Cyber X we show the website operators for what they truly are: a new kind of drug kingpin—operating not from jungle hideaways but from behind computer monitors in their mansions. From suburbia, these e-trafficker kingpins command multimillion dollar nationwide pill empires. Today, we are moving against them in force.

Law enforcement joined together in a 15-month Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation. Today, we arrested 13 Internet drug dealers here in the Dallas area and 5 in Florida. We arrested the ringleaders and suspended the registrations of 20 doctors and 22 pharmacies.
What is significant about Operation Cyber X is not the number of arrests and suspensions—but the fact that this is the largest Internet pharmacy investigation targeting U.S. based e-traffickers.
To give you a sense of the expanse of this criminal enterprise…the defendants:
• Bought $1 million worth of controlled substances each month,
• Handled 15,000 customers each week, and
• Filled 3,000 orders for controlled substances each day.
DEA and IRS logged 2 and a quarter million Internet sessions during the course of the investigation to track the narcotic sales by these defendants. Operation Cyber X is the domestic bookend to last spring’s Operation Cyber Chase where we targeted international Internet drug traffickers operating in the U.S.
The 18 people arrested today owned, operated, or were affiliated with an astonishing 4,600 rogue pharmacy websites. A simple search linked to many of these sites. The sites sold Schedule 3 and 4 controlled substances. Among the drugs they offered were narcotic painkillers, tranquilizers, and stimulants. Once orders were placed—and almost 1 million were processed and mailed during the course of the 15-month investigation—they were rubber-stamped by unscrupulous doctors and processed at pharmacies owned by these operations.
These pharmacies are not your friendly neighborhood walk-in drug stores.

• They are money machines for devious criminals.
• They are closed door warehouses stockpiled with drugs, with a scattering of computers and technicians to fill the mountain of orders—orders not based on legitimate prescriptions.
• In short, these operations are pill mills churning out powerful narcotics to anybody with a computer and cash.
Once the order was filled, the pills were delivered by overnight shippers to the customer. On at least 5 occasions during this investigation, DEA agents ordered drugs undercover from these websites and had the packages delivered directly to our offices in the Dallas area.
One of the ringleaders arrested today, Johar Saran, also engaged in traditional drug dealing, selling codeine cough syrup to walk up customers from the backdoor of his Dallas warehouses. Kids often mix the syrup with soda to get high because it contains a narcotic painkiller.
These websites are fueling prescription drug abuse, which is at an all-time high, and exceeds all other drug abuse except marijuana. Almost 1 out of every 10 high school seniors has abused prescription drugs. Last year, 12,000 new users a day were abusing prescription drugs—and their average age was 23
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Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report
Friday, May 11, 2007

Prescription Drugs
Purdue Pharma, Executives Plead Guilty to Misbranding OxyContin, Fined $634.5M
      Purdue Pharma and three of the company's current and former executives on Thursday pleaded guilty to misleading the public about the safety of its painkiller OxyContin and agreed to pay $634.5 million in fines, the Los Angeles Times reports. The settlement is one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on a drug company, according to the Times. The office of the Western District of Virginia, which filed the case against Purdue for practices that occurred between 1996 and mid-2001, said the company made claims that OxyContin was less addictive than other painkillers and less subject to abuse, "despite warnings to the contrary from doctors, the media and members of its own sales force," the Times reports (Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times, 5/11). The company also claimed that OxyContin could be discontinued without feeling symptoms of withdrawal (Appleby/Davis, USA Today, 5/11). "Purdue trained its sales representatives to make false representations to health care providers about the difficulty of exacting oxycodone, the active ingredient, from the OxyContin tablet," according to FDA (Lopes, Washington Times, 5/11).

Purdue said the illegal acts occurred before July 2001, and the company has since changed its marketing practices and increased warnings about the drug. The company in a statement said, "We accept responsibility for those past misstatements and regret that they were made" (USA Today, 5/11). The settlement comes two days after Purdue agreed to pay $19.5 million in fines to 26 states and Washington , D.C. , to settle claims that the company promoted the drug for off-label uses (Won Tesoriero, Wall Street Journal, 5/11).
Potential for Abuse
When OxyContin received approval, FDA said that the time-release aspect of OxyContin "is believed to reduce" the drug's potential for abuse. Sales representatives then falsely told doctors that the drug was less addictive and less likely to be abused than other painkillers, even though FDA's statement was not conclusive. Sales representatives also were allowed to draw their own fake scientific charts, which they distributed to physicians to show the safety of the drug, according to federal officials ( Meier , New York Times, 5/11). In addition, the company in 1995 learned from focus groups that physicians were concerned about the drug's potential for abuse and, as a result, gave false information to sales representatives to pass on to physicians, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said (AP/Baltimore Sun, 5/11).
Settlement
Under the settlement, Purdue pleaded guilty to one felony count of fraudulently misbranding a drug. The company will pay $600 million in fines, including $160 million to state and federal health care programs and $130 million to resolve private lawsuits now pending (Los Angeles Times, 5/11). Purdue CEO Michael Friedman, general counsel Howard Udell and former Chief Scientific Officer Paul Goldenheim each will pay a fine ranging from $7.5 million to $19 million. Friedman, Udell and Goldenheim will not serve jail time (Wall Street Journal, 5/11). Purdue in a statement said that the three executives "neither engaged in nor tolerated the misconduct at issue in this investigation" and that they admitted guilt under a legal principle that holds high-level officials accountable for illegal acts by others that occur at their drug companies. The statement continues, "To the contrary, they took steps to prevent any misstatements in the marketing or promotion of OxyContin and to correct any such misstatements of which they became aware" (Johnson, Washington Post, 5/11).

According to Brownlee, "Purdue's claims that OxyContin was less addictive and less subject to abuse and diversion were false" (Bloomberg/Boston Globe, 5/11). Brownlee said the company "unleashed a highly abusable, addictive and potentially dangerous drug on an unsuspecting and unknowing public," adding, "For these misrepresentations and crimes, Purdue and its executives have been brought to justice" (AP/Baltimore Sun, 5/11).
Broadcast Coverage
Several broadcast programs reported on the settlement. Summaries appear below.
• ABC's "World News": The segment includes comments from Brownlee; pharmacist Greg Stewart; Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group; and OxyContin users (Ross, "World News," ABC, 5/10). Video of the segment and expanded ABC News coverage are available online. ABC's "Brian Ross Investigates" webcast also reported on the case. The webcast is available online. "Brian Ross Investigates" also reported on work by Rudy Giuliani's consulting business, Giuliani Partners, for Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies. The coverage is available online.
• American Public Media's "Marketplace": The segment includes comments from Brownlee and Alex Sugarman-Brozan of Prescription Access Litigation (Palmer, "Marketplace," American Public Media, 5/10). Audio and a transcript of the segment are available online.
• CBS' "Evening News": The segment includes comments from Kim Rice of FDA; former HHS Secretary Joseph Califano; and family members of OxyContin users (Orr, "Evening News," CBS, 5/10). Video of the segment and expanded CBS News coverage are available online.
• NBC's "Nightly News": The segment includes a discussion with Pete Williams, NBC News justice correspondent, about the case (Williams, "Nightly News," NBC, 5/10). Video of the segment is available online.
• NPR's "All Things Considered": The segment includes comments from Brownlee and William Masello, assistant chief medical examiner for West Virginia (Zarroli, "All Things Considered," NPR, 5/10). Audio and a partial transcript of the segment are available online.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
P07-85
May 10, 2007  Media Inquiries:
301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries:
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FDA Announces Results of Investigation Into Illegal Promotion of OxyContin by The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc.
Company Misrepresented Prescription Pain Reliever to Health Care Professionals
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) announced today that The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. has agreed to pay more than $600 million to resolve criminal charges and civil liabilities in connection with several illegal schemes to promote, market and sell OxyContin, a powerful prescription pain reliever that the company produces.
An investigation by OCI uncovered an extensive, long-term scheme by The Purdue Frederick Company, Inc. to generate the maximum amount of revenues possible from the sale of OxyContin through various illegal schemes. To further this goal, Purdue trained its sales representatives to make false representations to health care providers about the difficulty of extracting oxycodone, the active ingredient, from the OxyContin tablet; trained its sales force to represent to health care providers that OxyContin did not cause euphoria and was less addictive than immediate-release opiates; and allowed health care providers to entertain the erroneous belief that OxyContin was less addictive than morphine. In addition, Purdue falsely labeled OxyContin as providing "fewer peaks and valleys than with immediate-release oxycodone," and by representing that "…delayed absorption as provided by OxyContin Tablets is believed to reduce the abuse liability of the drug." 
“FDA will not tolerate practices that falsely promote drug products and place consumers at health risk,” said Margaret O.K. Glavin, Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. “We will continue to do all we can to protect the public against drug companies and their representatives who are not truthful and bilk consumers of precious health care dollars.”
To resolve the criminal charges, Purdue pled guilty to a felony count of misbranding a drug with intent to defraud and mislead. As part of the plea, Purdue will pay a $600 million settlement. That amount includes a criminal fine, restitution to government agencies, and over $276 million in forfeiture. In a separate civil settlement, Purdue will pay $100.6 million to the United States .
In addition, Purdue's current and former executive employees, Michael Friedman, Howard Udell and Dr. Paul Goldenheim, pled guilty to a misdemeanor violation of misbranding OxyContin by illegally promoting the drug as being less addictive, less subject to abuse, and less likely to cause tolerance and withdrawal than other pain medications. 
This case was prosecuted by the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and investigated by FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations; the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations Division; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General; and the State Police Departments of Virginia and West Virginia . This case serves as an excellent example of federal and state law enforcement cooperation.