OXYCONTIN MAKER SHARES LEE COUNTY RESIDENTS' CONCERNS OVER DRUG'S ABUSE

by TIMES-NEWS STAFF

JONESVILLE - Officials of Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, say they
are concerned about the abuse of their product - especially by high school
students in Lee County - and have pledged their support of local efforts to
address the drug abuse problem in the county.

Earlier this week, company officials issued a news release in response to a
planned community meeting in Lee County to address OxyContin abuse.

"Although we were not invited to the meeting of the Lee Coalition for
Health on March 9, we have been in touch with a number of elected officials
in Lee County, and we have pledged our support of their efforts to address
the drug abuse problem in their community," the release stated.

Purdue's statement said some law enforcement officials believe data from a
recent local survey on drug abuse may be inflated, but they agree there is
a serious problem in the community.

According to the survey, 22 percent of 12th grade students in Lee County
have experimented with controlled substances such as Valium and other
tranquilizers, while 23 percent have tried Percocet and other painkillers.

OxyContin has been tried by 20 percent of the county's high school seniors,
and 48 percent have tried marijuana, according to the survey. Seventy-two
percent reported having used alcohol.

While wanting to keep OxyContin out of the wrong hands, the company is also
committed to protecting the rights of patients who use pain medications,
the release said.

"We have heard directly from many chronic pain sufferers in the state who
are concerned about continued access to their medication. 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," it stated.

Last week, Purdue representatives met in Richmond with Virginia Attorney
General Mark Earley, attorneys general from several other states, Lee
County Sheriff Gary Parsons, and Lee County Commonwealth's Attorney Tammy
McElyea. During that meeting, the company proposed a four-point education
and prevention program to help curb drug abuse.

The proposals include providing tamper-resistant prescription pads to
doctors and sponsoring education programs for medical professionals about
the appropriate uses of pain medications and techniques to prevent illegal
diversion.

The company also proposes developing a prescription drug abuse program for
middle school students and providing $100,000 for a study on prescription
monitoring programs.

Purdue officials also encouraged Earley to actively support passage of the
Drug Abuse Education, Prevention and Treatment Act of 2001, which was
recently introduced in the U.S. Senate. This bill would provide substantial
funds to assist rural areas like Lee County to reduce illegal drug abuse,
expand drug treatment programs, and educate young people about the dangers
of drug abuse.