ABUSE OF PAINKILLER MAY BE RISING HERE

OxyContin, a prescription painkiller whose illegal use is growing
nationwide, has not been a major problem in the St. Louis area but is
beginning to take a foothold, authorities say.

The drug, which has been linked to a growing number of overdoses and deaths
nationwide, is often prescribed for cancer patients.

At least one officer here believes that the recent case of a woman in St.
Charles County, who was charged with selling the pain medication to a
police informer, represents the early stages of a local OxyContin scourge.

Another officer, however, is confident that proactive efforts can nip the
problem before it spreads here with the malevolence of methamphetamine.

In the St. Charles County case, Kimberly Saunders, 38, is accused of
selling 10 OxyContin tablets from her home in O'Fallon to an informer on
Sept. 5. A federal indictment returned last month charges her with one
count of possessing the controlled drug with the intent to distribute it.

Saunders was arraigned Monday and is free on bond. Her trial is set for
Feb. 11 in U.S. District Court.

Court documents showed Saunders was on probation from a misdemeanor
conviction for illegally selling pharmaceuticals when she allegedly sold
the OxyContin in September. Records said she had prescriptions for the drug
for herself and her husband, Calvin Saunders, who had cancer. He has since
died.

If convicted, she could face up to 20 years and prison and a fine of up to
$1 million.

Purdue Pharma, based in Stamford, Conn., developed OxyContin's time-release
formula, which makes the narcotic effective for long-term pain relief. When
taken as directed, the tablet is intended to be swallowed whole, the
company says.

Authorities say addicts abuse the drug by removing its protective coating,
releasing 12 hours worth of painkilling power at once. They crush the
tablets to snort - or liquify them to inject - for a heroin-like high. The
company said this week it has begun clinical studies to make the drug more
resistant to abuse.

A $5.2 billion lawsuit by seven people in Virginia who say they have
suffered from OxyContin addictions accuses Purdue Pharma and four
affiliates of aggressively marketing the painkiller while downplaying its
risks. Purdue Pharma says the suit is flawed and could hurt legitimate pain
patients.

Authorities in the St. Louis area say OxyContin abuse is rare here.

Off the top of my head, I don't know of any arrests we've made involving
that drug," said Jefferson County Sheriff Oliver "Glenn" Boyer. "I'm not
going to say we haven't confiscated some of the drug along the way, but
it's not a problem here yet."

Jefferson County authorities confiscated some OxyContin last month, after
robbery suspect Timothy Lamar Bilbrey was killed when a high-speed chase
ended in a shootout.

In July, a physician from Herrin, Ill., pleaded guilty to charges that he
stole OxyContin pills he had prescribed for a patient.

Also in July, a Mountain View, Mo., man was charged with distributing the
drug after an investigation by the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force.

And in October, a man from O'Fallon, Mo., was charged after police said he
altered a prescription to get a bigger dose of the drug.

Collinsville police Sgt. Dave Roth, a 12-year veteran of the force and
former narcotics officer, said the worst was yet to come for St. Louis.

"It's going to hit us. We're just seeing the beginning of it, unfortunately."

But Lt. Tom Jackson, of the St. Louis County Drug Enforcement Task Force,
said efforts to educate pharmacy workers had helped forestall abuse here.

Unlike methamphetamine, OxyContin cannot be manufactured in home labs.
Abusers resort to faking prescriptions, or robbing drug stores.