WHEREAS, OxyContin®, a sustained release form of the Schedule II substance oxycodone, entered the market in 1996 and is legitimately prescribed for people with chronic moderate to severe pain, and has emerged as a highly abused and diverted drug; and

WHEREAS, when used according to medical guidelines, OxyContin® plays an important role in the treatment of pain; realizing, however, that the non-medical use of prescription drugs such as opioids can lead to diversion, abuse and addiction, and pose a public health threat; and

WHEREAS, OxyContin® has become a target for diverters and abusers of controlled substances because of the larger amount of active ingredient (10 to 160 mg oxycodone per tablet) and the ability of abusers to easily compromise the controlled release formulation, as simply crushing the tablet can negate the timed release effect of the drug, enabling abusers to swallow, inhale, or inject the drug for a powerful morphine-like high; and

WHEREAS, drug abuse treatment centers, law enforcement personnel, and health care authorities have recently reported a sudden increase in the abuse of OxyContin® and the Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) has documented that the estimated number of emergency department episodes involving oxycodone tripled from 1996 to 2000; and

WHEREAS, to date, at least fourteen states have been seriously affected by OxyContin® diversion and the problem is expanding to other regions within the U.S.; and in spite of the widespread reporting of its actual and potential abuse, prescriptions for OxyContin® grew an astounding 55 percent during the first quarter 2001 as compared to the first quarter of 2000; and

WHEREAS, diversion of OxyContin® can be effectively reduced by increasing enforcement and intelligence efforts, enhancing regulatory and administrative authority, such as assistance and funding for prescription monitoring programs, gaining industry cooperation, coordinating efforts with medical organizations, international health groups, outreach programs, media exposure and demand reduction; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, duly assembled at the 108th Annual Conference in Toronto, Canada, strongly encourages and supports all efforts to reduce and prevent the diversion of OxyContin®, as the abuse of this Schedule II substance has proven harmful and fatal in communities and is an emerging threat which must be deterred.