OXYCONTIN MAKERS GIVE GRANT TO BOSTON

The makers of OxyContin, the controversial pain medication that has been
linked to widespread abuse, yesterday gave Boston a $125,000 grant to
educate teenagers on the hazards of prescription drugs, part of an ongoing
national campaign that some health organizations have tried to bar from
their communities.

Along with the money, drug company Purdue Pharma L.P. is distributing a
health curriculum called "Painfully Obvious" that warns young people about
the dangers of misusing medications.

With the grant, Boston's Public Health Commission will hire two educators
and one trainer, said Barbara Ferrer, deputy health director. The focus
will be on reaching out to teenagers who are trying risky behaviors such as
drug abuse. Ferrer said the commission has also received larger grants from
drug companies Merck Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline.

OxyContin, made from the opiate oxycodone, is a powerful medication hailed
as a breakthrough in fighting pain. But its use -- even lawfully -- has
resulted in many cases of abuse, addiction, and overdoses. Last month
conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh admitted to being addicted to the
painkiller. Purdue Pharma, of Stamford, Conn., made $1.5 billion in
OxyContin sales in 2001.

Boston is the first major city to which Purdue Pharma has donated money.
Previous grants have been distributed in Maine, Ohio, South Carolina, and
West Virginia, said Clay Yeager, the company's director of community
partnerships.

"Certainly we're aware that people are abusing our product," said Yeager,
Pennsylvania's former juvenile justice director. "Do we have a role to play
in warning about the potential consequences of abusing prescription drugs?
Yes, that's what we're doing."

Some health advocates said Purdue is on a public relations mission,
following in the footsteps of the alcohol and tobacco industries, in
preaching responsibility.

But ad campaigns such as "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk," and
Purdue's "The effects of abusing prescription drugs are painfully obvious,"
do not explain to children the effects -- long and short-term -- of abusing
these legal substances, said Rhonda Ramsey Molina, president of the
Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati and an outspoken critic of the
company's education initiatives.

Purdue's message is preachy, not educational, Molina said. Molina's
organization has urged communities not to use Purdue's materials. "The
`Painfully Obvious' campaign is in no way based on the principles of
effective prevention," she said.

Substance abuse centers in Oregon and Kentucky also have recommended that
communities reject the material, with Kentucky's Division of Substance
Abuse echoing those concerns, said Amy Weber, prevention center director of
North Key Community Care, a mental health center in Northern Kentucky.

A 2000-2001 national health survey found that New England had some of the
highest rates of illicit drug use in the nation, with Vermont leading in
most age groups.