Since the beginning of the radio show in October, 2006, I have seen great strides in the education of the American media concerning the silent epidemic of addictions and deaths that continue to increase in our country. However, this week has been a reminder that the message has not reached everyone in the media.

I reminded the listener Sunday night that our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has left out some facts concerning the drug war.  Ms. Clinton was widely quoted that “our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade”, but the press missed her quotes from a 2002 Congressional meeting.  On February 12, 2002, Ms Clinton is attributed to the following: “We have a lot of people who are caught up in this OxyContin abuse who started out as legitimate users and then fell into the abyss of being dependent and addicted”.  The radio show asked the question how the devastation and destruction from the legal drugs has been forgotten by our government and the implications of the legal drugs creating the demand for the illegal drugs is being ignored.

It was particular discouraging to see that this week the pain management industry found another reporter to use as a pigeon in disseminating the misleading information on the present “oxycodone shortage”.  The shortage is do to the drug trade that has developed around the drug.  The reporter, David Templeton, had no factual information as to when the drug is needed for “pain relief”.  He quoted one “pain management” charlatan who had 32,000 patients.  There was no mention in the Pittsburg Post Gazette of the staggering deaths and addictions implicated with oxycodone.  We still have work to do in educating the American Press.