DOCTOR DETAINED BY COURT OVER DRUG INDICTMENT

IRONTON -- An Ironton physician was being held in federal custody without
bond Friday after he was named in a 61-count drug indictment in U.S.
District Court in Cincinnati.

The indictment returned Thursday accuses Dr. Randall L. McCollister, 52, of
111 Cove St., South Point, Ohio, and two of his patients with conspiring to
write and fill fraudulent prescriptions for painkillers including
oxycodone, known by the brand name OxyContin, during a two-year period
starting in January 1999.

McCollister was ordered detained in federal custody Friday by U.S.
Magistrate Timothy Hogan, said Tim Oakley, an assistant U.S. attorney. A
formal detention hearing was set for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday before U.S.
Magistrate Jack Sherman Jr. in Cincinnati.

"Abuse of potent pain relievers is a threat to the health and safety of
Ohioans," Gregory G. Lockhart, U.S. Attorney for the southern district of
Ohio, said in a news release. "Medicine that can relieve pain can also do
serious damage if allowed to fall into the wrong hands."

McCollister is charged in the indictment with writing fraudulent
prescriptions and giving them to two of his patients, Lawrence D. Jenkins
Sr., 40, of 602 Buckhorn St., Ironton, and a 40-year-old Ironton-area man
who is not yet in federal custody.

McCollister also is accused of recruiting former patients to fill
fraudulent prescriptions to pay off their medical bills, according to the
release.

The U.S. Attorney's office did not list the exact charges against
McCollister and Jenkins. Oakley said he couldn't comment beyond the
information on the press release.

Jenkins was released Friday after posting an unsecured bond for $10,000,
Oakley said.

OxyContin, when misused, delivers a heroin-like high, according to a
prepared FBI news release. Some 7.2 million prescriptions for the drug were
written last year, making the highly potent drug the most prescribed
Schedule II narcotic in the country, according to the FBI release.

The FBI has noted a dramatic increase in the availability and abuse of
OxyContin during the past two years, according to the news release.
Contrary to other drug abuse trends, the illegal use and sale of OxyContin
appears to have begun in certain rural areas, particularly Appalachia, and
now is a growing problem throughout the nation, the FBI release said.

McCollister allegedly used the names of former and current patients, people
who had outstanding medical bills and deceased or nonexistent people when
filling out the fraudulent prescriptions, according to the release from the
U.S. Attorney's office.

Jenkins and the other patient allegedly would give the prescriptions to
others, drive them to a pharmacy and give them the money to fill the
prescription, according to the release. They would give money and sometimes
pills as payment and keep the rest of the drugs to resell, the release said.

One of the accused patients would take people to McCollister's office, and
he would prepare pain medication prescriptions without examining them,
according to the release from the U.S. Attorney's office. Those people then
would be driven to a pharmacy, given cash and then give the pills to the
patient, the news release said.

Jenkins would take the Medicaid insurance card of various family members
without permission and give the names to McCollister, who would write
prescriptions, according to the release. Jenkins then would use the medical
card to pay for the drugs, according to the release.

The FBI said it arrested McCollister and Jenkins Thursday at their
residences. The Lawrence County Sheriff's Department and the Ironton Police
Department assisted in the arrests.

The case has been under investigation for a year, Robert M. Burnham,
special agent in charge of the Cincinnati division of the FBI, said in a
prepared release.

Six other people already have entered guilty pleas in federal court as a
result of the investigation into the unlawful distribution of OxyContin in
Lawrence County, according to federal authorities.

"Hopefully, this will make a dent in the illegal distribution of
OxyContin," said Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr. "This will
send a message that doctors are not immune to prosecution. Unfortunately,
there are some unscrupulous doctors out there who take advantage of people
who are addicted to prescription medication."

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion, Columbus,
and the Ohio State Medical Board assisted in this investigation, according
to the FBI.

An indictment is a formal charge made against a person by a grand jury. It
does not establish guilt or innocence.