NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators announced on Tuesday that they will not approve any generic versions of the original form of the pain medication OxyContin, which was widely abused because it could be crushed and then snorted or injected to produce a quick high. Full story
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California woman was sentenced to probation on Friday for helping an 86-year-old World War Two veteran kill himself by mixing a lethal dose of Oxycontin into his yogurt even though he was not terminally ill or bedridden. Full story
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York police will begin asking city pharmacies to stock decoy bottles fitted with GPS devices among powerful painkillers like Oxycontin and oxycodone in the latest bid to combat gunpoint robberies of drug stores. Full story
Drug companies are working to develop a pure, more powerful version of a highly abused medicine, which has addiction experts worried that it could spur a new wave of abuse. Full story
NYT: As prescription drug abuse ravages communities across the country, doctors are confronting an emerging challenge: newborns dependent on painkillers. Full story
Nearly one in 10 babies were born addicted to drugs last year in southern Ohio's Scioto County. Admissions for prescription painkiller overdoses were five times the national average. Full story
** FILE ** OxyContin tablets are seen at Brooks Drugs in Montpelier, Vt., in this July 19, 2001, file photo. Americans are living in a world of pain, and they are popping pills at an alarming rate to cope with it. The percentage of people using five major painkillers soared 88 percent between 1997 a
