Abuse of the popular painkiller Oxycontin has caused problems for law enforcement and doctors for years. Now the rising popularity of two other drugs is causing added concern along the Wasatch Front.

The drugs are Palladone capsules, an extended-release pain medication more powerful than Oxycontin that has been on the market since September, and Carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant sold under the brand names Rela and Soma, and reportedly the 14th most abused street drug in the nation.

Law enforcers are not the only ones concerned about the emergence of more drugs with the potential of abuses. The medical community throughout the Mountain West is also worried, and some states are taking steps to curtail abuse.

According to R.K. "Mick" Markuson, executive director of the Idaho Board of Pharmacy, the biggest problem with Carisoprodol is that it is not scheduled.

Drugs are typically divided into five "schedules." Each category comes with a certain set of licensing requirements and other restrictions concerning production, possession and distribution of the drug.

"Because Carisoprodol is not a scheduled drug, abuse is underreported. However, Carisoprodol is increasingly being found in post-mortem drug tests done by the coroner," Markuson said during a recent lecture in Idaho.

Markuson made his comments to the Idaho Nurses Association Legislative Committee in support of a bill introduced in the Idaho Legislature that would add Carisoprodol to the list of Schedule IV substances. Oregon lawmakers have already passed a similar bill and legislators in Washington were considering it, he said.

Michael Crookston, medical director of the Day Spring chemical dependency program at LDS Hospital, agreed that unscheduled drugs are much easier for abusers to get.

"Of all the muscle relaxants, (Soma) is the most abused," he said. "It's the most dangerous drug. It should be a controlled substance. Virtually anyone in addiction treatment thinks it should be a controlled substance. I don't prescribe it."

Despite concerns within the medical community, Utah law enforcement officers hope efforts that kept other problems in check, namely the popular club drug Ecstasy, will also help prevent the prescription drug problem from getting out of hand. Although methamphetamine remains the biggest challenge for Drug Enforcement Administration agents in the state, resident agent-in-charge Barry Jamison said the abuse of prescription drugs is the fastest-growing problem.

"Certainly we have an Oxycontin problem. Ours is probably a little less than other areas. But the whole idea is to keep it under wraps," Jamison said.

Heavy media coverage plus strict enforcement by drug agents combined to keep the Ecstasy problem from exploding in Utah, and Jamison hopes to see similar effects in the agency's efforts to combat Oxycontin abuse.