Southwest Virginia Programs Receive $650,000 From Oxycontin Settlement

More than $650,000 that Virginia received in a civil settlement with the maker of the painkiller OxyContin will go toward prescription drug abuse recovery and prevention in southwest Virginia.

By Associated Press
Published: January 30, 2009

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ABINGDON, Va. (AP) - More than $650,000 that Virginia received in a civil settlement with the maker of the painkiller OxyContin will go toward prescription drug abuse recovery and prevention in southwest Virginia.
State Attorney General Bob McDonnell and several state legislators announced in Abingdon on Friday that the money will go to agency programs in the region.
McDonnell says more than $450,000 will go for treatment of residents dependent on opiate-based drugs such as OxyContin. Of that, $150,000 will be designated for miners.
Another $200,000 will be used for a drug abuse prevention campaign.
The funds are part of a $19.5 million settlement in a lawsuit brought by 26 states and the District of Columbia claiming Purdue Pharma L.P. encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)