Oxycodone has killed pain for a substantially increased number of New Yorkers over the past few years. A new report by the Attorney General’s office shows that prescriptions for the narcotic painkiller rose by 82 percent from 2007 to 2010. In New York City, the report says, “the rate of prescription pain medication misuse among those age 12 or older increased by 40 percent from 2002 to 2009, with nearly 900,000 oxycodone prescriptions and more than 825,000 hydrocodone prescriptions filled in 2009.” Oxycodone has to be a front-runner to grab Bloomberg’s attention now that he’s (quickly) backed away from his support for the suppression of alcohol.
