The FDA recently voted in favor of pushing a new formulation of oxycodone hydrochloride for approval. The new OxyContin formula is more difficult to crush or dissolve which will hopefully make it harder to be used as a drug of abuse . The FDA recommended that Purdue Pharma's application for a new, resin-coated formulation should replace the original version, which has been on the market since 1996. Randall Flick, MD, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic who voted to recommend approval of the drug said, "Clearly the old formulation is worse than the new, although I think the difference is relatively small," Flick concluded, "Hardcore abusers are likely to devise new ways to break down the harder tablet or figure out which solvents will dissolve it fastest, within 'day or weeks' of the product's release on the market."
Professional golfer Doug Barron has recently been suspended from the PGA tour for failing a drug test. Barron is the first golfer to test positive since the substance testing policy was implemented in July 2008. Barron is not a high profile golfer so the PGA has dodged a media circus on the programs first positive test. In the bigger scheme of things we now know that the royal game of golf is not immune to substance abusers and has taken its rightful place in line with baseball, football and all other sports that are plagued with substance abuse and cheating.