[.ca] Pain Killer: A Wonder Drug's Trail of Addiction and Death (ISBN 1579546382)

fabulous book:
Terrific piece of investigative journalism. I could not put the book down. It's also a thoughtful and important statement about the increasingly blurred line between legal and illegal drugs.

Typical biased attitude...:
As one who lives in constant chronic pain, I can speak for how Oxycontin has SAVED my life. I agree with most of the reviews before me, but I do have to add a few things. I absolutely find it completely UNFATHOMABLE that anyone will put a pill in their mouth and not question what it is. IF these folks are all so "ignerent" then the problem is with the educational system. Look, I went to high school back in 1976 and guess what? They TAUGHT me about drugs. I'm not sure what I was supposed to learn from this book, but it wasn't anything more than the rehash of big businebbss against the "ignerent" folk. I did have to ask myself, Why isn't this book about "Paint Sniffing: How Dutch Boy refused to stop making paint to save our society" because basically the assumption here is that there was some kind of cover up... which is complete bull. There is no way that an educated person could EVER claim that ANY OPIOID wouldn't be addictive. It's preposterous for a doctor to claim otherwise... I'm only high school educated, and I knew it the day my doctor prescribed it. The fact that it takes a triplicate prescription to get it LEGALLY should be some indication!

My son My heart & OXYCONTIN murder:
I have recently finished this book & I believe every word. Purdue are murderers & they know it!!! www.oxyabusekills.ca my web site in memory of my son Chad Gregory Gardiner

Must read for Victims of Cancer Pain:
Although a section concerning pre-90's events was slow going (why it's a 4 & not a 5 star), this was a do-not-put-down-until-finished book for me. I wish we had read this book last August. The very first question we asked the oncologist was "is Oxcontin addictive?" -- Response "no" -- WRONG - as Meier reports, even the medically-intended patient can become addicted. Meier also points out the danger of mixing anti-depressents and Oxcontin -- perhaps the oncologist should have read this book since an anti-depressent was prescribed to simulate chemo-affected appetite (fortunately we have moral objections to anti-depressents & it was never taken). Repeatedly throughout his sensitive handling of the need for pain relief by cancer patients, Meier reminds the reader that other non-narcotics should be used first -- and that does not mean going from Advil to Oxy! Unfortunately the oxcontin was no more effective than the over-the-counter asprin, perhaps not all patients can digest either the wax or the acrylic shield, yet Purdue seems to have ignored that possibility in their agressive marketing while so brainwashing cancer care doctors that only increased amounts of their money maker are offered. This is an excellent exposure of the marketing ploys used by drug companies, Purdue is not alone, with the resulting cost to all of us in both higher prescription bills, addition and the fight against it. Reading Pain Killer should make you think twice the next time you see a TV ad for a prescription drug.

From Foxy to Oxy: The Perils of OxyContin:
As a recovered alcoholic and drug addict, and now a substance abuse counselor in a methadone clinic, I have seen the ravages of opiate abuse firsthand. The old days of methadone clinics being exclusively for down-and-out heroin junkies are long gone. Now, the majority of clientele in methadone clinics is for narcotic pain medication dependency and/or addiction. I have always been interested in finding out the true story behind the rise of the now notorious OxyContin, and after reading Painkiller, I was not disappointed. It has an interesting approach in that it simultaneously tells the origin of OxyContin in a chronological fashion while describing the devastating effects OxyContin had on a high-school age cheerleader. It is easy to take the side of the primary individual from whose perspective the author builds his indictment against the manufacturer's of OxyContin, Purdue-Frederick. The individual is a doctor who practices in the poor areas of West Virginia coal country. However, the addict population in general has always been very creative and innovative in their attempts to find out the ways any drug, whether illegal or prescription, can produce the best highs. And, even though Purdue-Frederick did indeed have a very aggressive incentive campaign to lure physicians into switching all their eligible patients away from lighter, and more traditional narcotic pain medications, they cannot, in my opinion, be seen as the scapegoats the author tries desperately to make them out to be in the OxyContin crisis that developed. Pain management has always been an inexact science at best, and in this author's educated opinion, why should those who will always do their best to end-run around the proper use of this, and other legitimate medications, hold those hostage who use them for their intended purposes. Painkiller, whatever the reader feels personally about the debate concerning OxyContin, is still an excellent read, and details the origin of OxyContin, and the history, both negative and positive, of opiods and their use for pain management in the United States.