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The FDA has a ban in effect that prevents generic oxycontin to be made or marketed. Any form of generic oxycontin would need to be approved by the FDA before it could be marketed in the American medical marketplace, and until approval is received any drug can not be legally prescribed or dispensed in the United States. The goal of the ban is to prevent oxycontin abuse. The FDA announced that generic oxycontin formulas would be banned in 2013. Part of the decision was due to pressure from a number of pain treatment specialists and attorney generals for several states, because oxycontin has been widely abused and the powerful narcotic has been responsible for many deaths. Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer for Oxycontin, has worked to improve the formulation of the drug so that the pills can not be crushed and then snorted or injected.

Recently physicians and government officials in Canada attempted to minimize the sale of generic oxycontin but their efforts were unsuccessful. Part of the reasoning for the FDA ban on generic oxycontin formulations in the USA is that the original product has been improved so that it is far more tamper resistant. There are some skeptics though, and many point out that the drug company waited until the original patent was getting ready to end before introducing the new and improved version. Either way the use of oxycontin needs to be carefully regulated and medically supervised. Patients have a right to proper pain management while doctors need to take care to keep any prescribed opiates off the street and out of the wrong hands.