Prescription Drug Abuse.

This local doctor says these pills were specifically designed so that abusers can not use them for a quick high. So he says that if the pills make it into the pharmacies, hopefully less people will die. 

 

Remoxy is one of the new pain pills being tested in Utah. Dr. Lynn Webster says it’s tamper proof. “You are not going to get that big hit.” Dr. Webster hopes that Remoxy will one day replace Oxycontin. Abusers often crush the pill or wash its coating to get a high.

 

Oxycontin has killed many people in Utah. Dr. Webster says the pills he’s testing could help. The painkiller in Remoxy is in the gooey substance. “You can not inject it, you can not crush it. You can not get it out.” In this pill called Embeda the affects of morphine are reversed if crushed. Dr. Webster admits the pills are not the answer to all addiction problems. “It’s not going to prevent doctors from practicing bad medicine, and it won’t prevent everybody from overdosing. I think these medications – these new formulations – may help solve some of the problems and prevent some of the deaths.” Dr. Webster says if the government approves the clinical trials that the new pain pills could be sold as soon as next year, and he believes they will be a better alternative to treating pain.