Bob Williamson

Panelists for the program on prescription drug abuse, scheduled for 9 p.m., will be Andy Watry, executive director, North Carolina Medical Board; Stan Haywood, member, North Carolina Board of Pharmacy; and Bob Williamson, diversion program manager, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

In Atlanta, DEA diversion chief Bob Williamson studied reports of abuse in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.He expected to find the usual, drugs like Xanax, Valium and hydrocodone.

This time, he saw a new drug: OxyContin.

Abuse hits the Carolinas

Thirty-five miles south of Myrtle Beach, drug informants in 1999 started telling police about the "next good thing," a tiny white pill with the marking OC.

"We didn't even know what it was," says Georgetown police Sgt.

Robert C. Williamson, Deputy Chief, Liaison and Policy Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement AdministrationReview Committee

In Atlanta, DEA diversion chief Bob Williamson studied reports of abuse in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.He expected to find the usual, drugs like Xanax, Valium and hydrocodone.

This time, he saw a new drug: OxyContin.

Abuse Hits The Carolinas

Bob Williamson, Deputy Chief, Liaison and Policy Section, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Justice

"Doctors can't be pill pushers," says Bob Williamson, deputy chief in the office of diversion control at the DEA.