DEATHS BLAMED ON SYNTHETIC PAINKILLER

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 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 drugstore 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.

"There is no way any of these kids had any idea of the potency involved or
that it could have resulted in anyone's death, or it never would have
happened," said Ben Hutson, Lo's attorney.

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, drug-maker Purdue Pharma suspended shipments of its largest
dose and took steps to make people aware of the dangers of the drug, also
known by its generic name, oxycodone.

"This is equally dangerous to you as if you had put that big ol' ugly word
'heroin' on it," said Alachua County state attorney William Cervone, who is
prosecuting the two students in Kaminer's death. "If we would call these
things poisons instead of drugs, some people would get the idea."

Used properly, oxycodone is released slowly into the body. But abusers of
the drug grind the tablets into powder and snort or inject the drug to
produce feelings of euphoria.

In Kaminer's case, it wasn't clear whether the dose he received was too
large or if it exacerbated his diabetes and a heart condition that was
revealed in an autopsy.

Lo's attorney said his client is "just a kid" who is devastated by
Kaminer's death and hopes to spread the word of OxyContin's dangers after
the criminal charges have been resolved.

"The only thing people can do to gain anything positive out of this is to
make it a learning experience for everybody," Hutson said.

Lakhani's attorney did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Kaminer died in his sleep at the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house after
celebrating the Passover Seder with friends and going to a birthday party.

Lillian Kaminer believes Lo, the pharmacy student, should have known the
dangers of OxyContin. She wanted the boys prosecuted to send a message to
drug dealers.

The young men are not the first to be prosecuted. Last year, a Florida
doctor was charged with manslaughter in the deaths of four patients he
treated for pain. Four others were charged with manslaughter in the death
of a 13-year-old Florida girl given OxyContin at a party.

"This is a drug that, if used properly, has a use and it's a great benefit
for people who have that kind of pain," Lillian Kaminer said. "It's being
abused, people are becoming addicted to it, it's out on the street. It's
being stolen from pharmacies left and right.

"I am not saying my son was without fault, no one forced the pill down his
throat. But how could he have known?"