OXYCONTIN SUMMIT PRODUCES SEVEN-POINT PLAN TO ADDRESS ABUSE

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Law enforcement officials from five states and the
federal government met with the manufacturer of the painkiller OxyContin
for about two hours Thursday to address the growing abuse of the drug.

The meeting, called by Virginia Attorney General Mark L. Earley after abuse
of OxyContin resulted in at least 32 overdose deaths in the state, ended
with Earley and drug maker Purdue Pharma announcing a seven-point plan to
address the growing abuse of the drug and the increase in crime by addicts
trying to get it.

The drug, a synthetic morphine used to treat moderate to severe pain in
cancer patients and others, has become the illicit drug of choice in some
areas, with users grinding up tablets and snorting the powder or mixing it
with water and injecting it.

The effects are said to be like those produced by heroin.

"This particular drug is a wonder drug when used appropriately," Earley
said. "But when in the wrong hands, it is an agent of death and an agent of
addiction."

Earley said inappropriate prescribing of the drug is a major problem, and
Purdue Pharma will address that in a series of educational programs for
health care providers about prescription drug abuse and when OxyContin is
the appropriate remedy.

The Connecticut-based company also will produce another educational series
targeted at teachers, students and parents; produce and distribute
tamper-resistant prescription pads for areas of southwest Virginia where
abuse is thought to be rampant; and spend $100,000 to pay for a study of
prescription monitoring programs in Virginia.

Earley's office also agreed to establish a task force made up of the
medical community and law enforcement officials to study prescription drug
abuse; ordered Virginia's computer crimes strike force to investigate the
illegal sale and distribution of drugs over the Internet; and announced
creation by the National Association of Attorneys General of a group to
focus on drug abuse nationwide.

Earley said the plan is specific to Virginia, and that Purdue Pharma is
ready to begin working with the other states involved in the summit on
similar plans of action.

Officials from West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and Kentucky also attended the
meeting, along with representatives of the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration. Tennessee, Indiana and Pennsylvania were invited to send
representatives, but did not attend.

OxyContin abuse, so far, has mostly been concentrated in small areas,
officials said, although they said they are uncertain why that is the case.
But with growing coverage of its abuse, Earley and others said it is
reasonable to expect misuse to increase.

"Any time you have a drug that appears to be replacing other drugs on the
street as the drug of choice, you can anticipate that it will spread unless
action is taken," he said.

Earley and Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. praised Purdue
Pharma for its quick response to their concerns and those of other state
officials.

"It's a balance," said Purdue Pharma's senior medical director of health
policy, Dr. J. David Haddox. "This drug does have an abuse potential, as do
all strong pain medications. And it has an absolutely essential role as well.

"We have to teach doctors and pharmacists and nurses to walk that line to
get the right patient the right medication for the right reason."

Curran said he also has concerns that abuse of the drug will make some
health care providers less inclined to prescribe it for fear their decision
will be closely scrutinized.

"Where there is pain that can be relieved, we want it to be relieved,"
Curran said.

The negative publicity surrounding OxyContin has not been desirable, Haddox
said, but the opportunity to address prescription drug abuse with
physicians and educate others in the community about the positive effects
of OxyContin has proven valuable.

"We're seeing this as a real opportunity to get the message out," Haddox
said. "This drug has life-affirming and lifesaving properties in some
people, and life-destroying properties in others."