Novus Medical Detox and the Prescription Addiction Radio Show have created a new website, www.BanOxycontin.com, to gather signatures on a petition to the FDA to ban the substance that they claim is essentially the molecular equivalent of heroin.
Tampa, FL May 13, 2009 -- A new website, http://www.BanOxycontin.com, designed to gather signatures on a petition was unveiled after a recent meeting before the FDA. The United States Federal Drug Administration held an "invitation only" meeting on May 5, 2009 in Rockville, Maryland, as an opportunity to gather testimony about the need for serious restrictions on the use of narcotic opioids such as OxyContin and methadone. Invited to this meeting were Steven L. Hayes, Director of Novus Medical Detox Center, Larry Golbom, pharmacist and host of the Prescription Addiction Radio Show on WGUL in Tampa, Marti Hottenstein of HARMD, Dr. Art Van Zee, Pete Jackson and other members of the Advocates For Prescription Opioid Drug Reform (APODR).
The meeting with the FDA dealt with the conflict between the FDA's goal to help people with pain and the testimony of Hayes that narcotics are killing thousands and addicting tens of thousands. According to Steven L. Hayes, many of the patients that have come to Novus Medical Detox Center used OxyContin when they couldn't get heroin and used heroin when they couldn't get OxyContin. Pharmacist Larry Golbom explains, "OxyContin and heroin are molecularly almost identical and act in the same manner in the body." When Mr. Hayes asked the FDA the question his patients ask him, "If heroin is illegal, why is OxyContin legal?" no one on the panel was able to answer.
OxyContin and heroin are molecularly almost identical and act in the same manner in the body. If heroin is illegal, why is OxyContin legal? My beloved granddaughter was taken from us because of this drug. She was only 23-years-old. My family would love to save others the sadness we now live with My only brother, the baby of my family died 2/26/09 at the age of 29 due to an over dose of Oxycontin. It sickens me that it's so widely available and so highly addictive.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Steven L. Hayes and Larry Golbom announced that they have created a website that contains a petition to ban OxyContin. The site, http://www.BanOxycontin.com, is planning to collect signatures of US citizens and citizens from around the world that support a ban on OxyContin. Many who have signed the petition already have heart-wrenching stories in the comments section such as "My beloved granddaughter was taken from us because of this drug. She was only 23-years-old. My family would love to save others the sadness we now live with", and "My only brother, the baby of my family died 2/26/09 at the age of 29 due to an over dose of Oxycontin. It sickens me that it's so widely available and so highly addictive." The Prescription Addiction Radio Show
Hayes, Golbom and members of the Advocates For Prescription Opioid Drug Reform (APODR) are all working to restrict the availability of addictive prescription narcotics such as OxyContin to the general public and to educate doctors and patients as to the risks involved in such drugs.
About Novus Medical Detox, http://www.novusdetox.com:
While many medical detox programs take place in a hospital, Novus Medical Detox specializes in handling drug dependencies in a private setting that is stress-free, comfortable and safe. The facility, set on 3.3 wooded acres, offers private rooms, TV, DVDs and Internet. Detoxification Programs at Novus provide detox services for people wishing to withdraw from drugs like opiates, heroin, psychotropics, alcohol, or benzodiazepines. Novus uses a Suboxone protocol for people detoxing from pain killers.
About the Prescription Addiction Radio Show, http://www.prescriptionaddictionradio.com:
Hosted by Larry Golbom, a registered pharmacist for over 30 years, "The Prescription Addiction Radio Show", sponsored by Novus Medical Detox Center (http://www.novusdetox.com), takes a cultural look at our prescription drug use in America and is dedicated to the thousands of families who are being, or have been affected by the misuse of prescription drugs.
The show can be heard on Tampa Bay radio station WGUL 860 am or live on the internet (http://www.860wgul.com) on Sunday nights at 9:05 pm Eastern.
