PAINKILLER TOPS DRUG DEATHS

Oxycodone Caused 209 Deaths In Pinellas and Pasco

The painkiller oxycodone is a major killer in Florida - especially in
Pasco and Pinellas counties.

The prescription drug caused more deaths in the state last year than
any other drug.

Of the 941 deaths statewide brought about by the substance, 209 were
in Pasco and Pinellas, according to the Florida Medical Examiners
Commission report released Tuesday. In comparison, 101 deaths were in
Hillsborough County.

Bill Pellan, investigations director for the Pinellas-Pasco Medical
Examiner's Office, attributed the high number, in part, to the
office's efforts to detect drugs during autopsies. Among other things,
the office has an in-house toxicology department and police also have
been trained to look for pill bottles at death scenes.

Following oxycodone, the drugs that caused the most deaths were, in
order, benzodiazepines, methadone, cocaine, ethyl alcohol, morphine
and hydrocodone, the report states.

The report also notes that there were 236 more deaths statewide caused
by oxycodone in 2008 than in 2007.

Deaths caused by heroin also increased, by 28 percent, compared with
2007, the report states. But deaths caused by methadone decreased, by
nearly 12 percent. Deaths caused by cocaine also decreased, by 23 percent.