Lake Charles residents have probably heard about the troubles associated with hydrocodone. This powerful painkiller has been a boon to patients who are recovering from surgeries or have devastatingly painful injuries, but it is so powerful that it leads some people who have used it to become addicted. That, in turn, has created problems for many communities, who have had to figure out how they can control the use of this medication and have had to step up law enforcement efforts to deal with people who get so desperate they rob pharmacies or other patients to get their next fix.

Now, a new type of hydrocodone medication has been developed and is already generating some concern that it will be a dangerous drug. The medication would be a pure form of hydrocodone. Currently existing forms of hydrocodone medication contain other substances meant to reduce the power of hydrocodone, so this would be the first time patients would have access to pure, unadulterated hydrocodone. 

The president of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse said she was worried this drug could become "the next OxyContin." What she was referring to with that comment is a hydrocodone medication that became infamous for being abused.

Now, a drug that works the way it is supposed to is not a dangerous drug. But a drug that is released to the market without proper precautions on the part of the pharmaceutical company that developed it could be. The issue is, if the pharmaceutical company knows the drug presents a real risk for addiction and abuse and does not do enough to address that situation, it could be creating a public health issue.

Source: The Associated Press, "New super-medication pain drugs set off new worries" Chris Hawley, Dec. 26, 2011