DEA AGENTS SEARCH PAIN CLINIC

A pain management clinic on U.S. 23 is the focus of a joint
investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. 23
Major Crimes Task Force.

Friday afternoon, officers from both agencies served federal search
warrants at the clinic at 5565 U.S. 23.

Dr. Paul H. Volkman, a Chicago native, runs the practice. He was not
arrested and has not been charged in connection with the
investigation.

According to the state medical board, Volkman, 59, has been licensed
to practice medicine in Ohio since July 15, 1996, and specializes in
emergency medicine, clinical pharmacology and pain medicine. He is a
1974 graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Volkman also has an active license in Illinois. He has been licensed
there since Nov. 14, 1975.

Ross County Sheriff Ron Nichols said the raid was the result of a
lengthy investigation into suspected prescription-writing abuse at the
clinic.

Neither the Ohio nor Illinois licensing board has taken any formal
disciplinary actions against Volkman in the past.

Pain management specialists often prescribe highly addictive drugs
such as OxyContin to their patients. OxyContin contains oxycodone, a
very strong narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. It is
sometimes taken and sold illegally because it produces an intense high.

Sold on the street, OxyContin tablets can sell for 50 cents to more
than $1 per milligram.