Sen Schumer: 'Super Painkillers Could Lead To Violent Robberies'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) --A U.S. senator is warning that a new batch of super painkillers now under review could lead to violent robberies.
Sen. Charles Schumer is urging the Food and Drug Administration to take extra care as it considers approving the drugs. He worries they would be prized on the black market.
1010 WINS Reporter Terry Sheridan was in midtown...
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"We all know that with a rise in addicts comes a rise in the amount of related crime in the robberies of the pharmacies on Long Island," he said.
He said he's not against strong pain killers administered by doctors.
"Crooks like Oxycontin and Vicodin, yet you leave the doctor's office, the dentist's office, the oral surgeon's office after you have a root canal, they routinely give you 20 to 30 of these pills. That can't happen with these new powerful drugs," he said.
A New Year's Eve robbery at a Long Island pharmacy netted prescription painkillers and cash and left the robber and a federal agent shot dead. In June, four died in another Long Island pharmacy robbery in which 11,000 hydrocodone pills were stolen.
There was no immediate comment from the FDA on Schumer's warning.
The Associated Press reported last month about addiction experts' fears that the new drugs would lead to abuse.
What do you think? Are the new "Super Painkillers" necessary? Or do they pose a dangerous threat? Let us know in our comments section below...
(Copyright 2012 - The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.)
