DOCTOR CONVICTED FOR NARCOTIC PRESCRIPTIONS

About A Third Of Charges Involved OxyContin

Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark is the fifth Southwest Virginia doctor convicted
of writing illegal prescriptions in two years.

A Southwest Virginia physician described as "a drug dealer in a suit" was
convicted Tuesday of supplying narcotic painkillers to addicts posing as
patients.

A jury found there was no legitimate medical purpose for 266 prescriptions
written by Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark. About a third of the charges involved
OxyContin, a potent painkiller that has been linked to fatal overdoses and
soaring crime rates in the western tip of the state. Clark's three-week
trial in U.S. District Court in Abingdon pitted a doctor who said he was
only trying to help patients in pain against the government's contention
that he was no different from a street corner drug peddler.

"In essence he's just a drug dealer in a suit," Assistant U.S. Attorney
Randy Ramseyer said.

Ramseyer said Clark know his prescriptions were being abused, but continued
to dispense medication from offices in Wytheville, Bluefield and Bland.
Witnesses testified that Clark kept his office open past midnight to
accommodate a steady flow of patients who knew their next fix was just a
feigned symptom away.

With OxyContin abuse being called an epidemic in the coalfields, federal
authorities are cracking down on physicians who illegally prescribe the
drug. Clark, 43, is the fifth Southwest Virginia doctor convicted of
writing illegal prescriptions in the past two years.

Even as the jury was deliberating Clark's fate, authorities executed a
second search warrant Monday against a Roanoke doctor suspected of
over-prescribing the drug. Medical records, computer disks and credit card
statements were seized from the home of Dr. Cecil Knox, according to court
records. Knox has not been charged.

Some say that prosecutions like Clark's will discourage well-meaning
doctors from prescribing OxyContin, even when they believe the drug could
help patients with severe chronic pain.

"The potential for a chilling effect is huge," said Dr. Mitchell Max,
medical director of the Pain Research Clinic at the National Institutes for
Health in Bethesda, Md. "This is bad news for anybody who has bad back pain
and goes to the doctor for relief."

Max, who testified as an expert witness for Clark, said he saw no
indication of wrongdoing - except by some patients who managed to fool the
doctor into prescribing their drug of choice.

"He seemed like an earnest guy who was eager to help his patients in his
first practice," Max said. "It seemed to me his only possible sin was being
a little too trusting."

However, a second expert opinion went against Clark. Dr. Adam Steinberg of
Abingdon testified for the prosecution that Clark should not have continued
to prescribe powerful narcotics to people who were clearly addicted.

In addition to OxyContin, Clark was charged with illegally prescribing
Percocet, Percodan, Lortab, Lorcet, Tylox and Florinal, all Schedule II or
III controlled substances. Prosecutors said the prescriptions, which
involved 19 patients, began in late 1998 and continued through last year as
Clark moved his practice from Bluefield to Wytheville to Bland.

Although Clark was acquitted of 30 counts, his defense attorney said the
volume of charges brought made it a tough case - especially in front of a
jury in an area that has been inundated by negative publicity about OxyContin.

"It's hard to battle a case when the government brings 300 counts that come
clothed in public opinion," said Robert Rider of Roanoke.

"It's always hard to fight the twin sisters of fear and ignorance."

Ramseyer disputed the notion that prosecuting doctors will discourage
effective pain management. He said that 99 percent of doctors prescribe
drugs properly and will continue to do so. "There are exceptions in every
profession, and they're the ones we're prosecuting," he said.

OxyContin has also begun to show up on civil court dockets. Last month, a
$5.2 billion lawsuit filed in Lee County Circuit Court claimed that the
drug's manufacturer, Purdue Pharma of Connecticut, marketed the drug
excessively, making millions of dollars while failing to disclose
OxyContin's highly addictive side.

The company says the lawsuit is baseless.

Since 1998, at least 43 people in Western Virginia have died of fatal
overdoses from oxycodone, the active ingredient in OxyContin. Police say
the drug's addictive grip has led to a dramatic increase in robberies of
pharmacies, property thefts and prescription frauds.

Clark, who was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon following the jury's
verdict, will likely face a sentence of between five and 15 years when he
is sentenced Oct. 16, Ramseyer said.