RESTRICTIONS SOUGHT ON PAINKILLER OVER ABUSE, DEATHS ROGER ALFORD

Hazard, Ky. (AP) --- Pharmacists call OxyContin a painkiller. Cindy Fugate
disagrees, the pain still sharp after her mother's death from abusing the
synthetic morphine.

''I catch myself wanting to talk to her, but I can't,'' the 16-year-old
said. Her mother, Sandra Fugate Riddle, overdosed on OxyContin or Oxy,
prescription pills that authorities say have become a drug of choice among
addicts.

Norma Ratliff also knows the pain: Her 27-year-old son, Chad, was shot to
death by two men who rifled his pockets looking for Oxy.

And Franklin McIntosh was jailed after allegedly robbing a bank to fund his
Oxy addiction. ''Once they get hold of you, you do anything it takes to get
more,'' said McIntosh, 46, a former motorcycle shop manager.

In the past year, OxyContin overdoses have resulted in at least 59 deaths
in Kentucky's mountain region, authorities said. In Virginia, 32 deaths
have been connected to abuse of the drug.

Concern is being voiced in several states as more illicit drug users
discover OxyContin, often used to treat cancer patients. Users grind up the
tablets and snort the powder or mix it with water and inject it like heroin.

The drug is more popular than cocaine or heroin because it produces a more
euphoric high than other narcotics, said Kentucky prosecutor Joseph Famularo.

In addition to a spate of deaths, authorities report an accompanying
increase in crime, such as robberies of pharmacies, residential burglaries
and bank heists, as users steal to feed their addictions. Kentucky police
in February arrested more than 200 people in a single day on
OxyContin-related charges.

The drug's manufacturer, Purdue Pharma of Stamford, Conn., maintains the
drug is safe when used properly, but it's planning programs to educate
health care providers about abuse and inform doctors about tamper-resistant
prescription pads.

Critics say the preventative measures don't go far enough. Dr. Art Van Zee,
a Virginia physician, is circulating a national petition to ban OxyContin,
even though he recognizes the benefits for patients with chronic pain.

''By light-years, the harm outweighs the benefits,'' he said.