AP: Pain Medicine Use Has Nearly Doubled

Dr. John Charles, Director of Medical Affairs at the Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Nov. 20, 2006. A few years ago, Charles said, he took a drastic step to reduce his potential legal risks: He stopped prescribing painkillers. The decision gave him peace of mind, but he doesn't expect there to be less need for painkillers or physicians who prescribe them. "People with cancer are surviving longer, elderly people are living longer," Charles said. "So, physicians are walking a fairly fine line. We're walking a narrow path. And I think we'll continue to see it for a while." (AP Photo/Willis Glassgow) (Willis Glassgow - AP)

_People who desperately need strong painkillers are forced to go long distances _ often to a different state _ to find doctors willing to prescribe high doses of medicine. Siobhan Reynolds, widow of a New Mexico patient who needed large amounts of painkillers for a connective tissue disorder, said she routinely drove her late husband to see an accommodating doctor in Oklahoma.

Perhaps no place illustrates the trends and consequences for the world of pain better than Myrtle Beach, S.C., a sprawling community of strip malls, hotels and bars perched along a 60-mile strip of sand on the Atlantic Ocean. The metro area is home to 350,000 people but sees more than 14 million tourists annually, drawn to its warm water, golf courses and shopping.

During the eight-year period reflected in government figures, oxycodone distribution increased 800 percent in the area of Myrtle Beach, partly due to a campaign by Purdue Pharmaceuticals of Stamford, Conn. The privately held company has pleaded guilty to lying to patients, physicians and federal regulators about the addictive nature of the drug.

Use of other drugs soared in the area, too: Hydrocodone use increased 217 percent; morphine distribution went up 180 percent; even meperidine, most commonly sold as Demerol, jumped 20 percent.

It is no small wonder that federal authorities suspected the area was home to a notorious "pill mill," or a clinic that dispenses prescription medication without verifying that it's needed.

The U.S. attorney for South Carolina secured a 58-count indictment in June 2002 against seven physicians and one employee of the Comprehensive Care and Pain Management Center, a nondescript storefront on Myrtle Beach's main drag.

Tipped off by local pharmacists concerned about an increase in the volume of painkiller prescriptions, the federal investigation created a furor in the medical profession. The owner, D. Michael Woodward, was sentenced to 15 years in the case and has relinquished his license.

A second physician, Deborah Bordeaux, had worked at the clinic less than two months before quitting in disgust. Bordeaux, now serving a two-year prison term, was threatened with a 100-year sentence if she did not help the prosecution.

Officials with the Justice Department and DEA would not discuss what some activists say is a "war on doctors."

Reynolds, the widow who drove her late husband hundreds of miles for his pills, became an activist after the Myrtle Beach indictments. She contributed money to appeal some of the criminal convictions in South Carolina and started the Pain Relief Network, an advocacy organization for people living in pain. She believes the doctors sent to prison were railroaded.

"It was a witch hunt," she said.

Bordeaux's husband, Edworth Swaim, agrees. A retired U.S. Postal Service employee, Swaim believes his wife was sentenced to two years because she would not turn on her former colleagues. Even though Bordeaux had worked at the clinic less than two months and eventually sued over what she alleged was rampant Medicare fraud, he said she did not stand a chance of avoiding prison.