I emailed you approx. a year ago requesting information on treatment centers for my son and you sent me information.  My son was prescribed Oxycontin for back pain a year and a half ago without any  notification to his wife or family members that he was on it.  By the time we realized how bad it was, he was a full-blown addict.  We called the doctor and he stopped prescribing it.  It totally ruined his life, he lost his job, his family, his home and his dignity.  He turned to the streets to obtain it, when he couldn't get it anymore he started shooting up heroin.  He died on May 2nd, 2002 from a drug overdose. He was 25 years old and would have turned 26 on the 24th of this month.  He left behind 4 children twins; Kerianne & Sara age 9, Slyvia age 5 and Evan age 4 and the rest of his family who loved him very much.  We tried to get him to go to a detox center but he thought he could beat it on his own.  He finally signed up for a detox bed with the county and had planned on going in three days before his death. I am angry, angry that the drug is readily prescribed when they know full well how addictive it is. And more than anything angry because he son is dead and we are left with the pain and loss...I know he would still be alive today if that doctor had not put him on this drug.