OXYCONTIN DEATH LEADS TO TEEN TRIAL

TAMPA, Fla. - Matthew Kaminer was one week away from freshman year
finals at the University of Florida when he had a few drinks, then
popped an innocent-looking pill handed to him by a friend.

The next day, he was dead.

Kaminer was among the first wave of deaths linked to the potent
painkiller OxyContin. Today two other young men go before a judge on
manslaughter charges in his death.

The synthetic morphine, a savior to those in intense pain, has become a
killer when abused. More than 120 people nationwide have overdosed on
the prescription drug.

"I know kids experiment with drugs, but this is something different,"
said Matthew's mother, Lillian. "This is like being handed a loaded gun
and not knowing what it is."

Authorities nationwide are cracking down on OxyContin abuse, but while
hundreds have been charged with illegally prescribing or selling the
pills, authorities in Florida have taken the matter further by pursuing
manslaughter charges when users die.

In Kaminer's April 2000 death, Ying Che "Dan" Lo, a 19-year-old pharmacy
student, is accused of swiping a bottle from the drug store where he
worked and giving pills to Naeem Diamond Lakhani, 19, who allegedly gave
one to Kaminer.

The two were not expected to fight the charges today. They face up to 15
years in prison.

OxyContin burst onto the national stage this spring with warnings from
law enforcement and public health officials about the deadly results of
misusing the synthetic morphine.

Last month, drugmaker Purdue Pharma took steps to make people aware of
the dangers of the drug, also known by its generic name oxycodone.

In Kaminer's case, it wasn't clear whether the dose he received was too
large or if it exacerbated other conditions - diabetes and a heart
problem.