PRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS CAUSE OF NORTH MAIN STREET DEATHS

Two men found dead in an apartment at 100 N. Main St. earlier this month
died from crushing and snorting lethal amounts of a prescription
painkiller, authorities said Monday morning.

Michael "Squints" Grygera, 22, and 23-year-old Michael Guyette Jr. both
died as result of ingesting the drug OxyContin, Winnebago County Coroner
Barry Busby said. Toxicology tests on both men were completed last week.

Guyette was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Grygera, a
former UWO student, was described by family as a sports fan and was
employed at a local golf course.

Authorities Monday said the deaths should serve as a wake-up call to the
dangers of taking un-prescribed medication for recreational use.

OxyContin when used for legitimate purposes is a strong narcotic painkiller
similar to morphine, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The drug is properly used through time-release tablets, though recreational
users will snort, inject or chew the tablets to get the full effect of the
drug all at once, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports.

"People tend to downplay how serious this is," said Brad Dunlap, special
agent for the Lake Winnebago Metropolitan Enforcement Group Drug Unit.

Locally, prescription painkillers now lag only behind marijuana in terms of
recreational use and abuse, Dunlap said.

Since 2003, 28 Winnebago County residents have died as result of drug
overdoses, and many of them were accidental, Busby said.

Drug agents Monday said the painkillers, when snorted, offer a heroin-like
high, and are extremely addictive.

They're obtained for recreational use through a number of means including
fraudulent prescriptions, burglaries of pharmacies and fraudulent use of
Internet prescription sites. Most commonly, addicts with legitimate
prescriptions for chronic pain use half of the drugs they're given and sell
the other half to other addicts, Dunlap said.

Police are still working to determine just what led up to the deaths of
Grygera and Guyette.

"We don't have all the answers yet," Oshkosh Police Sgt. Steve Sagmeister said.

Police said it couldn't be determined by the autopsy or toxicology tests
whether the men were regular users of the drug or had just been
experimenting. Police are still working to determine how the men received
the drugs. They also had alcohol and marijuana in their systems, though the
OxyContin was ruled in both cases as the cause of death.

Anyone with information on the activities of Grygera and Guyette on the day
of their deaths or the source of the OxyContin may call the Winnebago
Countywide Crimestoppers at (800) 621-2274. Callers remain anonymous and
may qualify for a cash reward.

For more information, read Tuesday's edition of the Oshkosh Northwestern.