Children are being placed under close observation by Purdue Pharma, the makers of the painkiller OxyContin. The pharmaceutical company has begun clinical trials on children ages six to seventeen in order to test the effects of the drug. Their motivation claims to be a belief that pediatricians give children OxyContin off-label for moderate to severe pain.

Yet some doctors believe that Pharma is being disingenuous, hoping to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration in order to extend the expiration of their drug patent for another six months. The company produced 2.8 billion dollars in revenue last year alone.

But patrons are having a hard time reconciling whether or not they believe this is a drug that should be prescribed to children. After all, OxyContin has been known in the past as being highly addictive. Children who are still developing can easily become unconscious addicts to the drug. Last year only 0.3 percent of Oxycotin prescriptions were for kids under the age of 19.

It was only two years ago that the FDA approved a new formula for OxyContin, which was designed to “help discourage misuse and abuse of the medication.”

The Purdue trial involves 154 children ages 6 to 17 and is slated for completion in August 2013. The study is currently recruiting participants.

Would you give your children OxyContin?