DRUG WARNING ISSUED AFTER INMATES' DEATHS

SACRAMENTO -- The Department of Corrections warned inmates Wednesday to be
cautious about using both legal and illegal drugs in the wake of three
recent unexplained deaths at the Central California Women's Facility in
Chowchilla.

Letters from the department's health director went to inmates there first,
but will be sent to each of the state's approximately 160,000 inmates by
week's end, said spokeswoman Margot Bach.

Deputy Director for Health Care Services Susann Steinberg warned inmates to
avoid unprescribed medicines, combining medication, trading prescriptions
with other inmates, or hoarding medication to take later.

"We're not saying this happened at Chowchilla, but it's a probability
people at Chowchilla were doing it," Bach said.

In addition, Steinberg warned inmates against using illegal drugs.

"The illegal drugs (like heroin, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamines,
etc.) that may be coming into the prison may be contaminated with toxic and
poisonous materials. In the past, we have identified drugs contaminated
with substances that range from potent insecticides to poisons, such as
strychnine," Steinberg warned in her letter. "Inhaling, ingesting, or
injecting these substances may lead to agonizing and rapid death."

Steinberg's office is also reviewing deaths throughout the prison system to
see if there are similar instances elsewhere, Bach said.

However, Youth and Adult Correctional Agency Assistant Director Steve Green
labeled "absolutely untrue" reports by prison advocacy groups of scattered
unexplained deaths among male inmates.

Meanwhile, a medical team from the University of California, Davis, began
its independent investigation of the three Chowchilla deaths Wednesday.

Pamela Coffey, 46, of Los Angeles, collapsed in her cell Dec. 2. Stephanie
Hardie, 34, of Pomona, died Dec. 9, and Eva Vallario, 33, of San Diego,
died Friday.

"The women were young, they didn't have any ongoing health problems (that
were expected to lead to death) ... and they were so sudden -- they were
here one minute and the next they're gone," Bach said.

Toxicology reports on the women inmates aren't expected for another week.

Vallario's sister, Misty Miller of San Diego, said Vallario suffered from
asthma and had complained for at least a week of a sinus infection. She
said Vallario was given an over-the-counter decongestant despite her
request for stronger medicine.