MAKER OF OXYCONTIN DEFENDS THE DRUG BEFORE A STATE PANEL

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - An official of the company that makes OxyContin told a
state panel Tuesday that the potent painkiller is no more addictive than
other drugs. "We have no evidence that people become addicted to OxyContin
more quickly than any other drug," Sidney Schnoll told a legislative
subcommittee studying improper prescription and illegal use of OxyContin and
Ritalin.

Schnoll, medical director of health policy for Purdue Pharma LP, said the
Stamford, Conn.-based company has logged 100 calls a day from patients
worried about getting cut off as officials work to curtail the drug's abuse.

He said about 50 to 75 million Americans suffer from chronic pain disorders
and many of them go without necessary painkillers because doctors fear being
harrassed by authorities as crackdowns on the drug's misuse continue.

"The people abusing it are the people who have addiction problems in the
past. Overprescription has been a problem for years," he said. "OxyContin is
just the drug du jour."

OxyContin is a 12-hour time-released medication meant for sufferers of
severe chronic pain. Abusers often grind the tablets and snort or inject the
powder for a heroin-like high.

The drug has been blamed for more than 100 fatal overdoses nationwide since
it hit the market in 1996.

Del. Bud Phillips, D-Dickenson, submitted a bill this year to make
unorthodox use of prescription drugs illegal. If signed into law, those who
misuse drugs could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Purdue Pharma plans to reformulate OxyContin so that it will have no
narcotic effect when crushed.

But reformulating is not easy and could make the drug less effective,
Schnoll told the panel of legislators, education, health and law enforcement
officials and drug manufacturers.

The company also has offered tamper-resistant prescription pads and expects
to help pay for a federal pilot program to track narcotics prescriptions in
Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, Ohio and West Virginia.

Schnoll said 8 million prescriptions were written last year for OxyContin
nationwide.

Also Tuesday, officials examined the use of Ritalin and the potential for
its abuse at school.

The Virginia Department of Education said 16,521 children received Ritalin
or other medication at school last year.

It's unlikely that students could be forced to surrender their medication to
bullies because students aren't allow to carry medicine with them, said
Lissa Power-Defur, the department's associate director for special education
and student services.

All medicines are kept under lock and administered by school officials, she
said.

Ritalin contains methylphenidate, a stimulant often prescribed to children
with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Authorities say that when the pills are crushed and snorted or injected,
methylphenidate has a cocaine-like effect.