WARREN Dentist faces drug charges

He allegedly wrote 30 prescriptions for OxyContin for one patient over 18 months.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A 66-year-old dentist has pleaded innocent to two charges of aggravated trafficking in drugs.
Dr. George L. St. John, of Champion, entered the pleas Friday before Judge W. Wyatt McKay in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
St. John was secretly indicted Wednesday. He is free on $5,000 bond. A Jan. 9 pretrial has been scheduled.
Jeff Orr, of the Trumbull County Drug Task Force, said St. John wrote more than 30 prescriptions for OxyContin for one patient over 18 months.
OxyContin is a powerful painkiller most associated with the treatment of cancer. It can be highly addictive.
"He is the only dentist we know of in this area that is doing that," Orr said.
Officials said that only doctors experienced with treating painful conditions should be prescribing the medicine.
Street drug: The Trumbull County Drug Task Force has gotten indictments on more than 30 people in the last few months for illegally selling or using OxyContin.
Orr called it the "new drug of choice on the streets."
According to Aceology Medical Review, OxyContin is a pain medicine approved for patients who have to be on a painkiller for an extended period.
OxyContin is made by Purdue Pharma L.P. of Connecticut and is the controlled release form of oxycodone.
Swallowing broken, chewed or crushed, OxyContin tablets could lead to poisoning, drug task force officials said.
The Trumbull County Coroner's Office has attributed at least nine deaths in the county in 2000 to an overdose of the drug.
Task force officials said OxyContin has a street price here of $40 per pill.
sinkovich@vindy.com