In Portsmouth Ohio, coal used to be king, now it’s Oxycontin and Oxycodone. The fifth-most-prescribed pain medication in the world, “oxy,” or “OC,” is a favorite of addicts, who crush and snort it or dilute it with water and inject it for a heroin-like rush. The drug and its cousin oxycodone are the cause of a prescription-drug-fueled epidemic that has brought Scioto County to its knees.

The county has seen a 360 percent increase in accidental drug-overdose deaths and has the highest hepatitis C rate in Ohio, a rate that has nearly quadrupled in the past five years, thanks to junkies who are shooting up.

Sixty-four Scioto County babies born in 2009 came into the world with drugs in their system — that’s nearly one in 10 births. And swamped drug treatment centers say they are turning away thousands of locals who need help for prescription-drug addiction.

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Perry Moore, The “Chronicles of Narnia” producer, was found dead in his SoHo apartment on Thursday. It is said he battled chronic back and neck pain and that pain sometimes interfered with his work. “He had a lot of chronic pain. It was always an issue we were dealing with on set,” said Mike Ryan, friend and Greyshack Films President, a producing partner on Perry Moore’s recent indie flick “Lake City.”

Moore’s father said his son had scheduled back surgery for the spring. “I hate to say he inherited it from me, but I’ve had several back surgeries,” Bill Moore, 69, told The News as he boarded a flight to New York City. The devastated father said his son’s initial autopsy was inconclusive, so formal cause of death is pending toxicology results. “I have no clue what happened. The examiner said he was in good condition,” he said. Sources said it appeared Moore died from an accidental overdose of the painkiller OxyContin.

The girlfriend of former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV died at his home after accidentally overdosing on the painkiller oxycodone, the St. Louis County medical examiner said Wednesday.

Adrienne Martin, 27, of St. Charles, was found dead on the morning of Dec. 19 at Busch’s sprawling estate in suburban St. Louis after spending the night at his home. He has said he woke up around 11 a.m. and tried to awaken Martin, but couldn’t.

Oxycodone is used to relieve moderate to severe pain, according to the National Institutes of Health. It is in a class of medications called opiate (narcotic) analgesics and works by changing the way the brain and nervous system respond to pain. It is commonly known by its brand name, OxyContin.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says abuse of Oxycodone has increased markedly in recent years.

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