With generic versions of the two most commonly-abused painkillers, Opana and OxyContin, coming on the market next year, police, hospitals and health clinics in Kentucky have voiced concern that “these generic crushable drugs lack the tamper-resistant gel coating of the brand-name drugs,” according to a news release from U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “Without this technology, addicts crush the pills in order to achieve an immediate heroin-like high from sniffing or injecting the painkillers,” the release said. “If these generics come to market without the tamper-resistant coating, much of the work that law enforcement and health care providers have done to stem the tide of pain pill abuse in Kentucky will be lost.”
