US Rep. William Keating (D-Quincy) hopes to tackle prescription drug addiction with a new federal bill. The new legislation he’s filed would compel pharmaceutical companies to make new painkillers that are crush and tamper-resistant. Most pain meds are time-released and distributed around the body over a period of time. But many drug abusers bypass this process by crushing the pills and injecting or snorting them to get an instant hit. “We’re here today because there is an epidemic dealing with prescription abuse,” said Keating, speaking at an event at the police station in Weymouth, Massachusetts yesterday. “This is one more strong tool in the arsenal we’ll be able to use to combat this terrible epidemic.” Manufacturer Purdue Pharma reformulated OxyContin in 2010 to make it harder—but not impossible—to abuse; it turns mushy when crushed. But this doesn’t apply to other drugs, like generic oxycodone, and lawmakers worry about the development of a new generation of highly potent forms of hydrocodone. “We will see the history of OxyContin repeated unless [the new drugs] are made as tamper-resistant as possible,” says State Sen. John Keenan (D-Quincy) “They will fill a void left given that OxyContin is now tamper-resistant. They’re ripe for abuse.”
