EARLEY TO FIGHT NEW DRUG EPIDEMIC

Attorney General Asks Drug Maker's Help

Citing "grave concern" about the abuse of OxyContin in Southwest Virginia,
Attorney General Mark Earley is requesting a meeting with the manufacturer
of the prescription painkiller.

"The widespread illegal sale of OxyContin has created an epidemic of
addiction and a surge in criminal behavior in Southwest Virginia," Earley
wrote in a letter this week to Richard Sackler, president of Purdue Pharma
L.P.

As more people get hooked on the painkiller, addicts are turning to crime
to support their habits. In Tazewell County, 10 drugstores have been robbed
by gunmen demanding OxyContin in the past 18 months.

In Tazewell and other Southwest Virginia counties, law enforcement
officials say anywhere from 70 percent to 90 percent of their thefts,
burglaries and shopliftings are connected to the drug.

"Perhaps even more alarming, a recent study found that 10 percent of
seventh-graders in Lee County have tried OxyContin, while 20 percent of
12th-graders in the county have used it," Earley wrote in the letter.

In addition, more than 30 deaths in Southwest Virginia have been attributed
to fatal overdoses of the drug.

James Heins, assistant director of public affairs for the Connecticut-based
company, said Thursday that Purdue Pharma will be happy to send a team of
senior managers to Virginia to meet with Earley.

"We welcome these kinds of meetings," said Heins, who added that the
company initiated earlier discussions with U.S. Attorney Bob Crouch and
other law enforcement officials west of Roanoke.

Reacting to a spate of national publicity about OxyContin abuse, the
company emphasized that the criminal behavior of addicts is overshadowing
the drug's positive effects on sufferers of chronic pain.

"The real innocent victim here is the patient," Heins said.

Noting that three doctors have been charged with illegally prescribing
OxyContin, Earley asked Purdue Pharma to review the way it markets the drug
to doctors, pharmacies and patients.

"In addition, I would like to know what further actions you intend to take
to enhance consumer awareness of the dangers associated with the improper
use of this drug," the letter continued.

By the end of the day Thursday, Executive Vice President Michael Friedman
had responded with a letter to Earley.

He listed a number of steps already taken by Purdue Pharma. Among them:
Thousands of educational brochures have been sent to health care
professionals; tamper-proof prescription pads are about to be offered to
physicians as part of a pilot program in Maine; numerous educational
programs are offered in cooperation with state medical boards and
professional groups; and company field representatives have been told of
law enforcement's concerns and encouraged to pass the word on to health
care providers.

Friedman also wrote that widespread publicity about abuse of OxyContin is
causing undue fears by legitimate patients who rely on the drug to ease
their pain.

Some patients have worried about becoming addicted to the drug - a fear the
company said is unfounded. The only problem with the drug, they say, is the
way addicts use it to get high by crushing it into a powder and then
snorting or injecting it.

Other patients are concerned that pharmacies may stop carrying the drug
because of the risk of robberies. Some even fear for their own safety if
addicts learn they have a supply of OxyContin in their medicine cabinets.

When abused, OxyContin produces a heroin-like high that is highly
addictive. Since it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in
1996 for treatment of moderate and severe pain, it has become the street
drug of choice in some rural areas that do not have an established heroin
network.

Although hundreds of people have been arrested on theft and fraud charges,
a bill working its way through the General Assembly would make it easier
for police to charge users of the drug.

Del. Clarence "Bud" Phillips, D-Dickenson County, has introduced a bill
that would make it illegal to use a prescription drug in a manner
inconsistent with its intended use "if the sole intent of the user is to
become intoxicated." Offenders would face up to 12 months in jail.

The bill has passed the House of Delegates and is before the Senate Courts
of Justice Committee.

David Botkins, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said
legitimate patients have nothing to fear.

"It is the illegal use and abuse that we are worried about," he said. "By
targeting the problem, we make it safer and more controlled for those who
need it."