Responding by e-mail, a man who identified himself as Timothy Case of Huntington, N.Y., said he became dependent on Actiq in 2002 while rehabilitating from a spinal cord injury. Eventually, he was taking the drugged sucker every four hours.

His Actiq use continued after his discharge, but when he developed severe constipation - a side effect, along with tooth decay - earlier this year, he sought his doctor's help. Slowly, he is being migrated to nonopioid painkillers.

"I still take Actiq, three doses a day," Case says. "For now, I still need its rapid-relief effect. I enjoy the dosages, even though I wish I could go without it."

But Michele Rubin, who did not disclose her hometown, said Actiq has been an answer to prayer for the pain caused by her fibromyalgia the past four years.

"I call Actiq my 'miracle drug,' " she writes. "I take it as I need to and when I stop I feel no side-effects."

Actiq also is impressing another segment of society - the illicit drug trade. Although it has yet to make a strong debut on Utah streets, authorities say it is just a matter of time. Already, Actiq reportedly has become a hot seller in some Eastern cities with the moniker "perc-o-pop" - a $40, candy-flavored ticket to an intense, quick-acting rush.

"We haven't had any local reports or community complaints in Salt Lake City involving Actiq, at least not yet," says Salt Lake Police Detective Joe Cyr.

"Oh, it's here, but not yet a major problem," adds John Moseman, group supervisor for the federal Drug Enforcement Agency's Salt Lake City office. "But you will see it out there eventually."

Among legally prescribed, but illegally diverted, painkillers, OxyContin remains the king, a hard-core companion in trade with cocaine, morphine and heroin, Moseman says.

But for Lynn Webster, president of the Utah Academy of Pain Medicine who is spearheading an educational campaign about painkillers, there is more concern about abuse of painkillers such as Actiq by those who obtain them legally.

"Most of the harm that results from prescription drugs, Actiq included, is from using the drug in an inappropriate way with other substances," he says. "To me, a single overdose death is a tragedy, and preventing that is the purpose of my campaign."

Webster, in cooperation with the Utah Medical Association and physicians nationwide, recently launched a six-step educational program targeting doctors and patients alike. "Physicians, not the government, need to be the ones who ultimately decide . . . but some need more education on how to safely prescribe," he says.