Ban generic oxy, say police

Police chiefs across Ontario have added their voice to calls for a ban on generic oxycodone in Canada.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) is asking the federal government to block the cheaper, generic versions of oxycodone from Canada once Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin patent expires on Nov. 25, 2012.
“Police services across Ontario have been raising the alarm bells about the abuse of OxyContin for years,” said Superintendent Ron Taverner of Toronto Police Service, the chair of OACP’s substance abuse committee. “We need the federal government to help us protect public safety by stopping the introduction of generic versions of OxyContin into Canada.”
Once a patent on a drug expires, other companies can release their own versions of the same drug often at a greatly reduced price.
In June, Ontario’s health minister Deb Matthews wrote a letter to her federal counterpart, Leona Aglukkaq, urging the federal government to withhold approval of applications for getting generic oxycodone on the market.
“Given the potential for widespread abuse and the susceptibility to diversion and trafficking of this product, we believe that approving the generic oxycodone CR tablets for sale in Canada would further exacerbate the incidences of addiction and death in Canada and contribute to a growing public health crisis,” Matthews wrote.
Matthews noted that addictions to oxycodone have become a public health crisis in many First Nations communities.
In 2009, Nishnawbe Aski Nation declared a state of emergency across all of its 49 communities due to prescription drug addictions. Earlier this year Cat Lake First Nation took a similar route, declaring a state of emergency and saying the First Nation could not provide essential services to its members due to the extremely high rates of prescription drug addictions.
Thunder Bay chief of police JP Levesque said it is important for the voices of police to be heard by the federal government on the issue.
“Police chiefs are asking the federal government not to allow the much cheaper generic drugs into Canada,” Levesque said. “While criminal organizations profit (from these drugs), the community as a whole pays a significant price.”
Levesque made his comments following an announcement of a major drug bust, where police seized $1.13 million worth of oxycodone, cocaine and cash in nine simultaneous raids across the province.
Police said the raids created a serious dent in the supply of oxycodone available on the black market. Officers have already started to see a decrease in the amount of available oxycodone on the streets of southern Ontario since production of the drug was banned in Ontario, according to OPP chief superintendent Mike Armstrong.
A Health Canada spokesperson told Wawatay News that the federal government is aware of Ontario’s request and is in the process of preparing a response.
Claudette Legault, a media relations officer with Health Canada, said that no authorization is approved for a generic drug unless the benefit clearly outweighs the risk.
“Market authorization for a drug is issued if, after a careful consideration and review of risks and benefits, Health Canada determines that the drug demonstrates safety, efficacy and quality,” Legault wrote in an email. “When used as directed and prescribed, opioid-based pain medications address patients’ needs in effectively reducing pain.”