RAEF2003
01-21-2003, 01:18 PM
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/special_packages/4982335.htm
Jan. 19, 2003
Lesser-known favorites cheap, abundant
By Linda J. Johnson
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
While OxyContin was making headlines in 2001, another group of powerful painkillers was pouring into Eastern Kentucky at a higher clip -- with little publicity, but eager acceptance in illegal markets.
Pills such as Lorcet, Lortab and Vicodin -- as easy to find in the hill country as dogwoods in spring -- are the drugs of choice in a region swamped with prescription narcotics.
The pills all share the same key ingredient: hydrocodone, an opium derivative that flows into Eastern Kentucky at a higher per capita rate than anywhere else in America. More hydrocodone pills than OxyContin come to the region each year,federal data show.
"Oxy" made national news when it was linked to dozens of overdose deaths in 2001, but one close observer said hydrocodone-based drugs might be more lethal these days. Roger Nelson, coroner in Floyd County, said he's seen more overdose deaths from them than from OxyContin because "it's easier to get."
Jan. 19, 2003
Lesser-known favorites cheap, abundant
By Linda J. Johnson
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
While OxyContin was making headlines in 2001, another group of powerful painkillers was pouring into Eastern Kentucky at a higher clip -- with little publicity, but eager acceptance in illegal markets.
Pills such as Lorcet, Lortab and Vicodin -- as easy to find in the hill country as dogwoods in spring -- are the drugs of choice in a region swamped with prescription narcotics.
The pills all share the same key ingredient: hydrocodone, an opium derivative that flows into Eastern Kentucky at a higher per capita rate than anywhere else in America. More hydrocodone pills than OxyContin come to the region each year,federal data show.
"Oxy" made national news when it was linked to dozens of overdose deaths in 2001, but one close observer said hydrocodone-based drugs might be more lethal these days. Roger Nelson, coroner in Floyd County, said he's seen more overdose deaths from them than from OxyContin because "it's easier to get."