Accidental drug overdoses now kill more people in Ohio than car crashes, due in part to wider availability and abuse of prescription pain relief pills such as Vicodin and oxycodone. A trio of lawmakers rolled out legislation this week aimed at cracking down on pain management clinics that act as “pill mills” — dispensing powerful painkillers for cash and little medical documentation.

The bill, if passed, will restrict prescribers from furnishing a patient directly with more than 24 hours worth of a controlled substance and more than 2,500 doses within any 30-day period.

It also would establish a “terminal distributor license” with a pain management clinic classification and give the state Pharmacy Board authority to revoke that license if warranted.

“Pill mills” often prescribe and dispense pain medications directly to avoid the chance of arousing suspicion at a pharmacy.

From 2004 through 2008, there were 195 deaths from drug overdoses in Butler County, and another 98 during that time in Warren County, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

The legislation also attempts to improve the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, a statewide database created in 2006 to track patients’ prescription histories.

Kevin Berry, a pharmacist at The Medicine Shoppe in Middletown, uses and backs OARRS.

“Prescription drug abuse is a major concern,” he said. “There are many pain management clinics throughout the area, and pain management clinics are a good thing in terms of if they are responsible and doing things the right way. ... They are generally professional, and that’s what they are designed to be, to help people with pain and to treat it properly and watch for those abuses.”

A task force report released in October outlines just how prevalent, dangerous and costly prescription drug abuse is in Ohio. Ohio’s unintentional drug overdose death rate in 2006 was 11.1 per 100,000, compared with the national rate of 8.8. By 2008, Ohio’s rate rose to almost 13.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Mike DeWine said he will pour $2.5 million into beefing up efforts to fight rampant prescription drug abuse.

Staff writer Ted Cox contributed to this article.