DRUG CRACKDOWNS

Prompted by a spate of overdose deaths tied to abuse of painkiller
OxyContin, several states are seeking to crack down on illegal prescription
drugs.

Lawmakers in Florida, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania are considering a
range of measures, including proposals to tighten physicians' standards for
prescribing addictive pills, set up prescription-tracking systems to catch
fraudulent users and strengthen sentencing laws for offenders. Maine has
adopted tougher penalties for illegally selling OxyContin and other
prescription drugs, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures, while government studies were launched in Louisiana and
Virginia to study possible legislative action.

Reports of widespread OxyContin abuse first surfaced in Appalachia, where
users were crushing the pill, then snorting or injecting it. The Drug
Enforcement Agency noted the painkiller was a probable factor in about 300
overdose deaths since January 2000. OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP,
Stamford, Conn., says it supports measures that would more closely track
patients seeking multiple prescriptions, and says it is developing an
abuse-resistant painkiller.

- -- Will Pinkston