PATCH ABUSE TIED TO DEATHS

St. Louis | Justin Knox bit down on the bitter-tasting patch,
instantly releasing three days' worth of a drug more powerful than
morphine. He was dead before he even got to the hospital.

The 22-year-old construction worker and addict was another victim in
an apparent surge in U.S. overdoses blamed on abuse of the fentanyl
patch, a product that is intended for cancer patients and others with
chronic pain.

"Fentanyl has been abused for years. But recently there has been an
increase. I've seen more chewing, squeezing of the drug off the patch
and shooting it up," said Dr. Scott Teitelbaum, director of the
Florida Recovery Center in Gainesville, Fla.

At least seven deaths in Indiana and four in South Carolina since
2005 have been blamed on abuse of the fentanyl patch.

One theory is that addicts are turning to the fentanyl patch because
of a government crackdown on abuse of another powerful prescription
painkiller, OxyContin, or oxycodone.

"The awareness is just not out there. I had never heard of this
patch," said Knox's mother, Rose Marler. "There's a new generation of
drugs and people just need to be aware."