MU TEAMS WITH PERDUE PHARMA TO FIGHT ABUSE OF DRUGS

Marshall University has teamed up with a leading pharmaceutical
company to fight prescription drug abuse in West Virginia.

Marshall President Dan Angel recently teamed up with officials of
Purdue Pharma L.P. and The West Virginia Prevention Resource Center
(WVPRC), which is operated from the Marshall Graduate College in
Charleston, to announce the establishment of a program to fight
prescription drug abuse in three southern West Virginia counties.

The pilot project will take place in Mingo, Logan, and Wyoming
counties. According to Dr. Wayne Coombs, director of the WVPRC, these
three counties were chosen because they have had high amounts of
prescription drug abuse in recent history.

"Purdue Pharma met with us more than a year ago to discuss ways to
combat prescription drug abuse in the state," Coombs said. "We all
were well aware of the devastating effects of prescription drug abuse.
However, we didn't have a sustainable program created, let alone in
place, to fight this type of abuse."

Purdue Pharma gave the WVPRC a $126,000 grant to help fund the
project. Purdue also is helping by using its Painfully Obvious drug
abuse education materials, which is specifically designed for teens
and tells about the effects of prescription abuse on the body.

"The project is the result of what happens when a corporation
recognizes a need and partners with a state organization and local
community leaders to take action and bring about meaningful
solutions," Coombs said. "We want to work within these counties to
create a lasting program. The grant plants the seed and our goal is to
have the project grow stronger and evolve each year."

With the help from Purdue Pharma, the WVPRC is also going to work with
local agencies in these counties to help with the drug abuse problem.
Coombs said aside from the drug abuse problem in the target counties,
the counties were also chosen because of their efforts to respond to
the problem.

"The project's objectives in these three counties are to provide
training and technical assistance in building a focused prescription
drug abuse effort; increase awareness of prescription drug abuse
through proven social marketing efforts; and measure the effect of
these local efforts," Coombs said.

"We are very pleased to partner with the Prevention Resource Center
for this project," said Clay Yeager, Director of Community
Partnerships for Purdue Pharma. "They are very knowledgeable of the
prescription drug abuse problem in West Virginia and can work at the
local level with community groups to combat this problem. Together, we
are working to educate the public about the dangers of prescription
drug abuse, especially among teens."