EARLEY SETS TASK FORCE TO STUDY ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

8 Of 25 Members Are From West Of Roanoke, Where OxyContin Has Caused 'Surge
In Criminal Behavior'

The state's westernmost county, Lee County, is home to a national petition
drive asking for the recall of the painkiller OxyContin.

In appointing a task force on prescription drug abuse Thursday, Virginia
Attorney General Mark Earley drew heavily from
the western tip of the state, which has been hard hit by OxyContin abuse.

Of the 25 legislators, law enforcement officials and health care
professionals named to the panel, 18 are from localities west of Roanoke.

The task force will hold its first meeting next month to discuss ways to
curb abuse of prescription drugs - particularly OxyContin, which has been
described as the crack cocaine of the coalfields.

"The widespread illegal trafficking and abuse of OxyContin in Southwest
Virginia has created a surge in criminal behavior," Earley said.

Lee County, which last month held a town meeting on OxyContin that drew
more than 700 people, accounts for four members: Sheriff Gary Parsons,
Commonwealth's Attorney Tammy McElyea, Lee High School Principal Rod
Griffith and Pennington Gap pharmacist Greg Stewart.

The state's westernmost county is also home to a national petition drive,
sponsored by the Lee Coalition for Health, asking the Food and Drug
Administration and OxyContin manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP to recall the
prescription painkiller.

So far, about 2,700 people have signed the petitions. Petition drive
organizers hope to get 100,000 signatures once they establish a Web site.

"We're getting petitions mailed in almost every day," St. Charles physician
Art Van Zee said Thursday.

There have been 38 fatal overdoses attributed to oxycodone, the active
ingredient in OxyContin, in Southwest Virginia since 1997. While
acknowledging that the drug is an effective painkiller when properly used,
Van Zee said there are other medications that are just as beneficial but
not as dangerous.

Purdue Pharma has said it has no plans to take OxyContin off the market.

"Any effort to restrict access to OxyContin tablets would be a disservice
to the thousands of patients in Virginia who rely on this medication to
control their pain and regain function in their daily lives," the company
said in a statement.

Also on Thursday, U.S. Attorney Bob Crouch held a meeting in Roanoke to
discuss OxyContin abuse. About 30 federal law enforcement officials from
Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, North Carolina and
Pennsylvania attended the meeting, which was not open to the public.

One topic of discussion was how federal agencies can assist state and local
law enforcement in combating OxyContin abuse, which sheriffs in some
coalfield counties say accounts for more than 70 percent of their crime.