MINGO TOWN DEALS WITH DRUG EPIDEMIC

The 41-year-old hairdresser says she has been around at least one person on
OxyContin.

"It's like people under the influence are really intoxicated - highly
intoxicated," says Vicki Stanley, who lives in the unlikely drug cradle of
Gilbert. "Then when they're trying to come off, it's like they have the flu
- - muscle cramps, body aches, sick at their stomachs.

"And that's just the physical addiction. The mental addiction is worse."

For the last couple of months, Stanley and other residents of this Mingo
County town have been grappling with what they say is a narcotic epidemic.

According to families and friends, a good percentage of the town's
population of 456 has developed an appetite for OxyContin, a potent opiate
used to treat pain.

Residents have held about six meetings over the past couple of months to
discuss ways to fight the problem. The most recent drew 100 people.

Another was scheduled Thursday night, at the Larry Joe Harless Community
Center, a $10 million showpiece built by Mingo County coal and timber mogul
Buck Harless.

People steal to finance their $1 a milligram habit, those at the meetings
say. They roam from town to town, looking for a physician to write them a
prescription. Rumors of fatal overdoses abound.

People steal to finance their $1 a milligram habit, those at the meetings
say. They roam from town to town, looking for a physician to write them a
prescription. Rumors of fatal overdoses abound.

Pharmacist George Smith, who works at Gilbert's Adkins Pharmacy, said
OxyContin is "a huge problem."

"Of course, the pills themselves are coming from pharmacies," he said.
"Several physicians do prescribe the medicine."

Smith said the prescriptions aren't flooding in from Mingo or any other
particular county. It's foolish to imagine such a scenario, he said.

"We've filled OxyContin for as long as it's been on the market," he said.
"It's been around for a while but the druggies didn't discover it initially."

Smith described the drug as a potent narcotic, producing euphoria. In
layman's terms, it is more potent than, say, the painkiller Darvocet but a
notch below Dilaudid.

"It's an excellent medicine when used correctly," Smith said.

Stanley said people began noticing about six months ago that a lot of
otherwise healthy townspeople were noticeably high. She, licensed
professional counselor Debbie Trent and others soon formed a community
group called STOP, which stands for Strength Through Our Plan.

Dr. John Palmer works with the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center,
affiliated with Marshall University's Graduate College. The center is
supposed to coordinate the substance abuse prevention efforts of mental
health facilities across the state.

Palmer keeps abreast of the Gilbert group's activities. He said residents
report people selling the pills at Gilbert High football games. Parents of
students have entered the school, attempting to peddle the drug, he said.

Some may be duping doctors by complaining of fake pain, said Palmer.

Are locals perhaps blowing the problem out of proportion?

"I do think some people perceive it as something we can just step in and
clean up and be done with it because we're a good community," he said. "I
don't know if that element is overplaying it or not.

"I think the people at the meetings have a good grasp of the situation."

One man, Trent said, gave his son an ultimatum to leave the house or get
help when he kept stealing to buy the drug.

Trent said a local church is arranging to take people to Georgia for a
12-step program.

No one has any real ideas why Gilbert, of all places, has developed a
reputation for OxyContin use.

Palmer guesses that residents of the little town may be a little better off
financially than surrounding areas. Smith speculates that others who may
actually need the prescription realize it's street value.

"Maybe they need money too," Smith said.

Trent said the meetings will continue, until those addicted receive help.
She said education is a chief focus of the group's program.

The counselor said she would estimate that OxyContin use is hardly confined
to Gilbert. She said she first noticed its popularity while working at
Logan-Mingo Mental Health.

"There are people extremely concerned," she said. "Some people can't get to
their homes for the drug traffic on their roads."