NEW STATE LAW TAKES ON OXYCONTIN

A Special Grand Jury, Under A Law Effective July 1, Will Be Able To Compel
Testimony From Lower-Level Drug Dealers And Users

A new law that allows state prosecutors to conduct special grand jury
investigations may soon be used to combat OxyContin abuse in Tazewell County.

Commonwealth's Attorney Dennis Lee said he hopes to bring charges against
some of the county's major drug suppliers by impaneling a grand jury under
a law that took effect July 1.

Since OxyContin became the drug of choice among addicts in this Southwest
Virginia county of 44,000, most of the arrests have involved small amounts
of the prescription painkiller sold in hand-to-hand transactions.

Under the traditional grand jury system, undercover police officers
involved in those drug deals testified to the panel, which decided whether
to issue indictments. Such street-level sales rarely included major drug
suppliers, who are careful to insulate themselves from police, Lee said.

Authorities hope to "move up the food chain" by convening a special grand
jury that would have the power to compel testimony from lower-level dealers
and users, Lee said.

"I like the fact that the big drug dealers are going to worry about having
sold drugs to someone a year ago," he said. "They're not going to be able
to sit in their homes and feel that they are untouchable. I want them to
know that every person they sold drugs to could be a witness to put them in
prison."

Regular grand juries cannot compel testimony and have little investigative
power. But with the new law, someone like Lee could squeeze information
from a reluctant witness by using the threat of a contempt charge for
failing to talk, or a perjury charge for lying.

The process, which is used routinely by federal prosecutors, could also
entail granting immunity to a witness in exchange for testimony.

Officials with the Virginia Crime Commission and the Attorney General's
Office said last week that they were not aware of an investigative grand
jury's being used since the law was passed. Prosecutors have said earlier
that while the process is needed, they expected it to be used sparingly.