OXYCONTIN IS HERE NOW

OxyContin is coming to Clarke County big time, according to Rep. Frank
Wolf, R-Va. He made this comment at his recent lightly attended town
meeting in Berryville. At the hearing his committee held on OxyContin in
Leesburg, Wolf said a Commonwealth's Attorney said in Lee County there's
hardly a family in the county that hasn't been impacted by the drug in one
way or another.

This miracle drug is great for cancer victims, Wolf said, but is being
heavily misused.

"I haven't seen any testimony to show that once people are on the drug they
can get off," he said.

Clarke County Sheriff Dale Gardner said that they encountered their first
OxyContin cases last July or August.

"We've had three cases where OxyContin was involved," Gardner said.

He believes more OxyContin cases will be encountered here.

"It's a new fad type drug. Most of the users are just coming to find out
what it will do," Gardner said.

Berryville Police Chief .. Nesseldorf said his officers have also
encountered some OxyContin incidents.

"We've had enough to tell us its there and look at ways to better control
access to it," he said.

Wolf believes that is one of the keys to controlling the OxyContin problem.

Another problem this area is going to face shortly, Wolf said, is when the
big trucks from Mexico get here.

Sept. 11 has had a big impact on Congress. According to Wolf his office
received a newspaper March 25 that was sent to him on Oct. 9, 2001.

"If we didn't have e-mail we wouldn't get anything done," he said.

He urged constituents to e-mail or fax him, but not to use the mail.