In response, police have assigned three full-time investigators to a prescription drug task force. Officers also have worked with area pharmacists and doctors, warning them how to spot fraud. The number of deaths was 15 the year before. Exact numbers of deaths attributed to OxyContin were not available. Nationwide, prescriptions for OxyContin increased from about 300,000 in 1998 to more than 5million last year, according to the Drug Enforcement Association.
Authorities say many abusers take the tablets orally.
Some crush the pills, mix the powder with water and shoot it intravenously. Others snort it like cocaine. In February, Cleveland County authorities seized 21 pills of OxyContin along with methamphetamine during a traffic stop in Shelby. South Carolina authorities have been investigating a suspected OxyContin distribution ring, a possible pipeline from Myrtle Beach to several Carolinas cities, including Charlotte. James Cappola, who heads the Columbia office of the DEA, said federal authorities have investigated several break-ins at pharmacies in northern South Carolina.