I don't understand--what does the patent on the original form of oxycodone expiring have to do with an increase in illegal drug trade? A patent describes a product or process created by a company, and gives them exclusive rights to it for a specified number of years. This keeps other companies from copying or using their product/procedure, thereby reducing the profit they would now make from it for that number of years. The owner of a patent can license or sell rights to it to other companies, so that they still profit from production of their product. When a patent expires, that means other companies can now put out their own version of the product. Which means it usually becomes more readily available, and often less expensive since the competition generally drives the price down, and more places can be making and selling it. But since you need a doctor or medical facility, of some sort, whether legal or not, to get oxycodone, it is still a controlled market, whether by legal means or not, so price and availability may not be affected the same way that, say, toys are.

The company who created oxycodone still owns several current patents on newer formulations of the drug.

If finally the DEA has decided to crack down on pill mills (it took the USPS 10 years to arrest a local postal worker who they knew had been robbing our mail for those 10 years, it took 10 years for the city of Denver to arrest the obscene phone caller who used to call my dorm & colleges & homes all over the city, regularly, guess it just takes the gov't 10 years to get their backsides in gear) so that prescription drugs are harder to get, whether they should have them or not, then it is going to drive people to illegal drugs. And the illegal drugs currently flooding the country are constantly changing, have been as long as there have been illegal drugs, always the drive for something new, something to increase the profits just like any legitimate business strives for.

I don't see the connections you are implying, have I missed something?

I think it is just really unfortunate that legitimate patients get burned because of illegitimate doctors and "patients". There should be more intelligent thought into separating the two, not seeing everyone as an illegal drug addict, whatever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"?