PORTSMOUTH (AP) – Prescription pills caused nearly two-thirds of the drug overdose deaths in the state last year, according to authorities.

That comes as no surprise to a 22-year-old Brentwood man who says he was addicted for three years to OxyContin, a powerful prescription narcotic and painkiller.

“I’ve been to hell and back,” said the young man, who spoke to the Portsmouth Herald on condition his name not be used.

The man, who went to a small public high school in the area, can list several friends whose lives were ruined by OxyContin.

“Dave, Rachel, Eli,” he said. “OxyContin became a problem for my entire extended friend network. It took over us like the plague.”

Methadone, OxyContin, diazepam (Valium), hydrocodone, fentanyl, morphine and other prescription medications were responsible for killing 96 of the 147 people who died of drug overdoses last year, according to Dr. Thomas Andrew, the state’s chief medical examiner.

After Winnacunnet High School student Lloyd Chapin Jr. died of an overdose two weeks ago, his cousin, Seabrook Fire Chief Jeff Brown, spoke publicly about the problem.

He said most of his overdose calls involve teenagers and young adults ages 14 to 25, who often combine alcohol with prescription narcotics.

“They’re not just taking one or two, either,” he said. “They’re taking handfuls.”

State statistics show a big increase in overdose deaths among 40- to 50-year olds, however.

“There has been an increase in prescription drug abuse in all levels at all ages,” said Brian Cressy, director of Quitting Time, an outpatient drug-treatment facility in Hampstead.

Among middle-aged adults, addiction usually starts with a legitimate need for pain medication, Cressy said.

Often, these adults suffer increasing pain, leading them to take more pills and develop multiple addictions. Also, they may not be monitored by anyone else and might not have any idea how addicted they are until it’s too late, he said.

Teenagers often get started by going “medicine cabinet shopping” and taking pills prescribed for their parents, Cressy said.

Richard Cram, program director for Family Mediation and Juvenile Services of Southern Rockingham County, said many younger addicts also take drugs prescribed for other kids, like Ritalin and Adderall, which contain powerful stimulants intended to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Those drugs have been nicknamed “kiddy coke” for the quick high people get from snorting them, he said. Typically, teenagers take the pills for fun and then find themselves addicted.

“A lot of parents look at their kids who might get good grades and play sports and think, Not my kid,”‘ said Portsmouth police Detective Corey MacDonald, the school resource officer at Portsmouth High. “The troubled kids aren’t the only ones involved in this. It spans all socioeconomic backgrounds, sports teams and intelligence.”

The 22-year-old man told the Herald he isn’t sure when he became addicted to Oxycontin, but eventually figured out he had problem.

“It freaked me out that I was doing a pill every day,” he said. “But it freaked me out even more when I didn’t have one.”

Emergency room doctors who treat drug overdoses say they also see plenty of healthy patients who lie to get prescriptions for narcotics.

“There are people who make a living going into the ER with fake injuries to get drugs,” said Dr. David Heller, an emergency room physician at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “It’s a constant balancing act, trying to do what’s best for the patient and trying to keep them from having a side business.”

Cressy said after OxyContin became a major problem, doctors began prescribing methadone instead. Methadone is now the leading cause of drug deaths in the state.

Yet few prescription drug addicts show up in treatment centers – and there isn’t enough drug treatment available.

“The rehabilitation services just aren’t there,” said Portsmouth Police Chief Michael Magnant. “They have all dried up,” especially since the closing of the Portsmouth Hospital Pavilion, he said.

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Information from: Portsmouth Herald, http://www.seacoastonline.com

AP-ES-02-19-06 1432EST