By now, just about everyone has heard about the abuse of a little pill called OxyContin. But another drug has been creeping stealthily into the region's small towns, mountain valleys and pastoral farms, and with little fanfare. It is methamphetamine -- a manmade super stimulant cooked up in illegal laboratories in homes, barns and garages. It leaves behind enough toxic waste to sicken neighbors and poison the environment for years. Users refer to it as crank, speed, meth, ice or crystal meth. [continues 1337 words]
The Bristol Virginia fire hall became an extension of the city's jail Thursday night when it served as the base of operations for the culmination of a drug sting dubbed "Operation Combined Effort." One by one, drug suspects were brought in, fingerprinted, photographed, processed and then taken to the jail. The seven-month investigation resulted in 60 charges against 32 people, according to Bristol Virginia Police Chief Bill Price. It was named for the cooperation between law enforcement agencies, including the BVPD, the city Sheriff's Office, the Bristol Tennessee Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Agency, the police chief said. [continues 534 words]
A series of programs -- many designed to assist young people -- are among the most visible signs of progress for the Weed and Seed program established last year in a Bristol Tennessee neighborhood. The program has helped put in place a new satellite location for the Boys and Girls Club and opened a community policing office inside Anderson Elementary School, according to police Maj. Mike Yaniero. A program coordinator has also been hired and a regular series of meetings aimed at getting feedback from the community has been scheduled, he added. [continues 797 words]
ABINGDON -- A federal judge sentenced a Lee County man Thursday to more than 36 years in prison for illegally dealing in the potent narcotic OxyContin. It is believed to be the stiffest sentence to date for a crime involving the drug, federal prosecutors said. "This is a victory for the community," U.S. Attorney John L. Brownlee said after court. "Any time you take a dealer like this off the street Ö it's a major victory." Brownlee admitted the sentence was hefty, but said it was warranted because drugs and guns are a deadly combination. He said his office will continue to fight OxyContin abuse and its illegal distribution at every level. [continues 455 words]
ABINGDON -- A lawsuit against the makers of the popular and potent painkiller OxyContin will not go forward as a class action, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. As he made that ruling, U.S. District Judge James Jones conceded it could affect the legal rights of hundreds or even thousands of people who believed the lawsuit was protecting their interests. "There are persons whose interests are being litigated who are not present and are not represented by a lawyer," the judge said. "Their fate rides on that of others who are represented." [continues 533 words]
Several bills of interest to Southwest Virginia have been moving through the state General Assembly in recent weeks. Lawmakers in the House of Delegates and the Senate also have been getting ready for crossover day on Tuesday, the point in the legislative session at which bills approved in one house are sent to the other for review. One bill, submitted by Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, would create a statewide database to allow authorities to track possible abuse of prescription drugs such as the powerful painkiller OxyContin. [continues 347 words]
Curbing abuse of the powerful painkiller OxyContin is the aim of legislation introduced by a Southwest Virginia lawmaker. Sen. William Wampler, R-Bristol, said Thursday the bill was requested by the state's incoming attorney general, Jerry Kilgore, a Scott County native who is to be sworn in on Saturday. OxyContin is a potent time-release narcotic that's become popular among drug abusers who crush and snort it. Abuse of the drug has resulted in the overdose deaths of scores of people in Southwest Virginia, Kentucky and Northeast Tennessee. [continues 327 words]
Purdue Pharma will soon begin human testing of a reformulated version of its potent and controversial painkiller oxycontin, a drug company representative said monday in bristol. The company is testing additives that would take away the drug's heroin-like high when it is misused by abusers, who crush the pills and inject or snort it, said Dr. J. David Haddox, a Purdue spokesman. "We hope to have an entire line of abuse-resistant drugs," Haddox said. "We don't want abusers to dictate medical care for everyone else. That is my biggest concern." [continues 437 words]
The 44-year-old Libertarian Party candidate said his bid for election is aimed at promoting his party and publicizing the need for electoral reform. "I'm not satisfied with two major political parties, and a lot of other people aren't, either," Redpath said Friday during a visit to the Bristol Herald Courier. "We need to have a change in our election process." He proposes the implementation of "instant runoff voting," in which voters would rank all of the candidates in a race in order of preference. [continues 290 words]
Several neighborhoods on the west side of Bristol Tennessee are being targeted for improvement through a five-year federal grant program, city officials said Monday. The city has received a $175,000 federal ``Weed and Seed'' grant designed to ``weed out crime and drugs'' and ``seed'' human services, Vice Mayor Trish Bane said during a Monday afternoon news conference. And the city will receive an additional $225,000 during each of the next four years through a program administered by the Department of Justice. [continues 297 words]
Officers hit the streets Tuesday night to arrest 33 people in the final stage of the Bristol Virginia Police Department's "Operation Rx" drug sting. "We have made undercover drug purchases from all these people ... in the last several months," Maj. Greg Baker said Tuesday afternoon. "They were indicted through a grand jury today. This will be their first inclination that they are in trouble." Forty city and state police officers paired up and were given arrest packets containing personal information on and photos of those they were assigned to pick up. Cruisers left the parking lot of a city elementary school at about 5:30 p.m. and returned one by one throughout the night -- either with the alleged drug offenders or with empty back seats. "We basically do it as a sweep-type operation. [continues 547 words]
To the editor: Anyone who follows OxyContin's destructive path throughout the country (more than 25 states are reporting problems) can't help but be alarmed. The only thing more alarming is the response of Purdue Pharma, the drug's manufacturer. Purdue has assembled a four-person public relations team to put out the fire. The team, led by Dr. David Haddox, senior medical director, is seeking to prove that the death toll from OxyContin overdoses isn't as high as reported. One can't help but wonder: What, in Dr. Haddox's view, would be an acceptable number of deaths? Purdue is on a mission to treat untreated or under-treated pain, certainly a worthwhile mission. But the company went into "overdrive" in pursuit of its goal and soon created even more pain, devastating pain, to individuals, families and entire communities. The company may not have been prepared for this, but it should have been. Had Purdue not over-promoted the benefits and utility of OxyContin, the results might have been very different. Recalling the drug and reformulating it to lessen its abuse potential would be the responsible thing to do. Alternative drugs for severe chronic pain are already on the market, as many medical professionals will attest. There are no alternatives once a life has been extinguished by the drug. Purdue is no stranger to warnings from the FDA. From 1993 to 1996, the company received repeated warnings from the FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications, concerning its promotional materials for another of its drugs, MS Contin. A final warning letter in November 1996, written directly to Purdue's president, Raymond R. Sackler, MD, for the company repeatedly disseminating materials that contain unsupported claims that MS Contin is superior to other analgesics concludes, "Failure to respond to this letter may result in regulatory action, including seizure and//or injunction, without further notice." On May 11, 2000, the FDA released a letter from DDMAC which identified an advertisement for OxyContin by Purdue Pharma in the /{New England Journal of Medicine/} titled, "Proven Effective In Arthritis Pain." The letter warned that this ad was misleading as to the drug's effectiveness and did not properly disclose risk information. While profit maximization may be a legitimate corporate goal, there are ethical restraints that bind all corporations in a free society as to how that goal may be achieved. Among them is concern that the patient's health may not be unduly put at risk. Beth Davies St. Charles, Va. [end]
BLOUNTVILLE -- Sullivan County authorities and police across the Virginia line in neighboring Scott County have seized marijuana plants this week as summer eradication efforts hit high gear. In helicopters and on the ground, authorities are probing the rolling hills and valleys of the region for the illegal weed, which is cured and smoked like tobacco. By far, the most plants -- more than 3,800 of them worth an estimated $3 million -- were seized in Scott County, authorities said. "We had several choppers in the air," Scott County sheriff's Investigator Terry Sivert said of a joint effort among the Sheriff's Office, the Virginia State Police, the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force and the Army National Guard. [continues 282 words]
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., is asking the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee to hold a hearing to address what he called an emerging crisis of OxyContin abuse. In a letter sent to Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., the committee chairman, Warner said the seriousness of OxyContin abuse, and the important medical benefits of the painkiller when appropriately prescribed, are reasons the committee should undertake a careful review of the issues. "OxyContin is a profoundly addictive central-nervous-system depressant that was hailed as a miracle pain reliever for chronic pain or terminal illness suffers when it first became available in 1996," Warner said. "Clearly, though, the benefits that the drug provides to patients also make it a target for abuse." Forty-three known OxyContin-related deaths have occurred in Virginia, Warner said. [continues 194 words]
It's good to hear that a two-day symposium this week that focused heavily on the legal and social effects of OxyContin abuse probably won't be the last. And it's equally good to hear that the next one, if it's held, will deal with treating and rehabilitating those already addicted. Certainly it's imperative to find ways of stemming the "epidemic" of OxyContin addiction, as it's being called. The narcotic painkiller, intended for those suffering severe, chronic pain, has been blamed for more than two dozen deaths in the region, a wave of drug-related crime and untold human suffering among those who abuse it. But it's no less important to find ways of helping those who have already fallen prey to OxyContin and other drugs. Whether you believe the problem lies with the powerful painkiller itself or with the people who use it, there must be ways to help them overcome the addiction. And until they've done so, the suffering won't be over for them or for others. [end]
ABINGDON -- A substance-abuse conference that focused heavily on the narcotic painkiller OxyContin wrapped up on Thursday, and officials said it likely will not be the last. Much of the two-day conference dealt with the legal and social effects of the abuse of the drug, a time-release formulation of OxyCodone that can be deadly when snorted or injected. It has been blamed for more than two dozen overdose deaths in the region and about 100 nationwide. A second conference on OxyContin abuse -- termed epidemic by local authorities -- likely will be held to consider treatment and rehabilitation, according to officials of the Virginia Department of Social Services. [continues 630 words]
ABINGDON -- Social workers said they found a 4-year-old Southwest Virginia girl earlier this year in a roach-infested trailer, her 20-year-old aunt dead in a bathtub of an OxyContin overdose. The girl's mother lay nearby, passed out from abuse of the same prescription painkiller. After the state removed the girl and put her in foster care, her mother agreed to rehabilitation. But she later died in rehab from an overdose of methadone and other drugs. Two young adults dead and a little girl in foster care. Welcome to the world of illegal OxyContin use as seen by area social workers. At least 32 people died last year in Southwest Virginia from illegal OxyContin use, Virginia State Police 1st Sgt. Landon Gibbs told a substance abuse conference Wednesday at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center. State Police Special Agent Steve Matney said Tazewell County probably leads the region in illegal OxyContin trafficking and use, followed by Buchanan and Russell counties. But authorities said illegal OxyContin is available throughout the region, even in the form of high-potency pills the manufacturer no longer sells. "Over the past year and a half, we have seen a rise in the numbers of Child Protective Services complaints we are getting," said Mary Adams-Norris of the Virginia Department of Social Services. "We can directly relate them to substance abuse." She said social services reports have increased 30 percent to 40 percent in Southwest Virginia this year, with 40 percent to 50 percent of all cases related to substance abuse. Tom Fritz, director of the department's western region, said that was why the conference, funded by a federal grant, was organized. [continues 460 words]
ABINGDON -- After 16 hours of deliberations over three days, a federal jury found a Bland County physician guilty Tuesday of 266 counts of illegally prescribing narcotic painkillers, including OxyContin. Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark, 43, displayed no emotion as the judge read the verdicts, but his family and friends gasped in disbelief. After court adjourned, Clark calmly hugged his family and kissed his fiancee, Mary Sivert, before federal marshals led him from the courtroom. Clark could face up to 15 years in prison when sentenced later this year, prosecutors said. Defense attorneys argued against jailing Clark until sentencing, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Ramseyer said federal bond law requires drug offenders to be held in custody. [continues 365 words]
BLUFF CITY -- Eight Tri-Cities residents face federal drug charges after being arrested under sealed indictments by agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency, authorities said. Four states are involved in the investigation, which still was ongoing Tuesday. DEA agents, working the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, Bluff City police and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, made the arrests during a series of raids that began June 28. "DEA Special Agent Brian Snedegar testified that several items including chemicals, glassware and tubing consistent with a methamphetamine lab were seized," said Eric Hurt, an assistant U.S. attorney in Abingdon. Those items were found inside a house at 308 Cedar St., Hurt said. A hazardous materials team was called in, and the house was sealed. [continues 427 words]
ABINGDON -- A federal jury began deliberating Friday afternoon in the case of a Bland County doctor accused of illegally prescribing narcotic painkillers hundreds of times to drug-addicted patients. The jury had been considering the evidence for less than two hours when U.S. District Judge James Jones adjourned court for the day and ordered the panel to return Monday morning. During the nearly two-week trial, Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark contended he was trying to ease his patients' chronic pain when he prescribed the narcotics, but prosecutors portrayed him as a well-dressed drug dealer. [continues 547 words]
BLOUNTVILLE -- In the first case of its kind in Sullivan County, a man was convicted Friday of second-degree murder for providing heroin to a friend who overdosed and died. Russell Wayne Canter, 48, of Bristol Virginia was sentenced to 18 years in prison and will spend much of that time behind bars, prosecutors said. In such cases, defendants must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences. That would make Canter eligible for release in late 2016. He had faced a maximum of 25 years. [continues 291 words]
ABINGDON -- Testimony was continuing into the night Thursday in the case of a Bland County doctor accused of illegally prescribing narcotics to drug-addicted patients. Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark told a federal jury on the seventh day of his trial that he hadn't realized his patients were addicted. He said he only was trying to stop his patients' suffering when he prescribed powerful narcotics, including OxyContin, for their chronic pain. "I think I actually tried to take care of the entire patient," said Clark, 43. "If I knew I was going to have all these troubles, ... I'd be a little more cautious and a little less trusting and a little less believing." [continues 504 words]
JONESVILLE -- Purdue Pharma will seek a dismissal of a multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit on grounds that state law does not permit them, the drug-maker's local attorney said Wednesday. Seven Southwest Virginians filed the suit last month claiming they have suffered in some way due to abuse of Purdue's painkiller OxyContin. They claim the company aggressively marketed the drug while downplaying its risks. Abingdon attorney William Eskridge, who represents the Connecticut drug-maker, called the suit "irresponsible, unfounded and legally flawed." He filed a response to the suit Wednesday in Circuit Court here. "Virginia state law does not permit class-action lawsuits. [continues 390 words]
ABINGDON -- A Bland County physician on trial in federal court told a jury Wednesday that he struggled with depression and prescription drug abuse before moving to Bluefield to establish a private practice there in 1998. Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark is facing 298 counts of prescribing narcotic painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose. He said he still is being monitored by the Virginia Board of Medicine and last tested positive on a random drug screen in late 1999. But since then, Clark said, he's been drug-free on 88 random screenings and even volunteered to take more screens than normally required. [continues 551 words]
ABINGDON -- A former minister and recovering drug addict told a federal jury Tuesday he worked as a volunteer for Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark at the same time he was receiving narcotics prescriptions from him. Harold Underwood, 66, of Wytheville said he worked for several months at Clark's clinic, sometimes taking patients' vital statistics and medical histories despite a lack of medical training. "I was just trying to help out," said Underwood, who also was an alcoholic. "I didn't have anything else to do." Underwood said he "tried" to take readings of patients' blood pressure when asked by the doctor to do so and sometimes would talk to patients about their personal lives while taking down their histories. All the while, Underwood said, he was abusing narcotic OxyContin, Darvocet, Percodan, Tylox and Lorcet pills Clark was prescribing for his back and neck pain. "When I get on something, I have to be locked up to get off it," he said. It was the fifth day of trial for Clark, 43, who is charged with 298 counts of prescribing narcotic painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose. [continues 438 words]
ABINGDON _ A former drug addict told a federal jury Thursday that a Bland County doctor prescribed powerful narcotic painkillers for her sore back despite her history of drug abuse. Elizabeth Diane Ritchie of Bluefield, W.Va., testified that she began seeing Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark, 43, after another doctor refused to prescribe her any more Lortab or Lorcet pills. "I was still in pain, and my family said (Clark) would write narcotics," Ritchie said, adding that several relatives already had been receiving potent painkillers from the doctor. [continues 496 words]
ABINGDON -- Trial began Tuesday in federal court for a Bland County doctor accused of running a pill shop for nearly a year from clinics in Bluefield, Bland and Wytheville. Outlining their case in opening statements, prosecutors said Dr. Freeman Lowell Clark, 43, had a following of drug-addicted patients who would drive long distances to his clinics and wait at as late as 2 a.m. to get narcotics prescriptions. Clark is charged with 298 counts of illegally prescribing potent painkillers, including OxyContin, Percocet, Lortab and Lorcet, without a legitimate medical purpose. If convicted on all counts, the doctor could face hundreds of years in prison and millions of dollars in fines. [continues 460 words]
BEN HUR -- More than 1,500 people crowded into Lee County High School Friday to unite against the rising epidemic of OxyContin addiction sweeping across Southwest Virginia. And most of the law enforcement officers, doctors, pharmacists, church representatives, students and others who attended signed petitions asking the Federal Drug Administration to recall OxyContin. The narcotic painkiller, often prescribed to cancer patients, has become the illicit drug of choice in recent months. OxyContin overdoses have caused several deaths in Southwest Virginia recently. Police and prosecutors have said that every community in the region has an OxyContin problem. A recent drug sting in Wise County resulted in 43 arrests, most related to illegal use of the drug. The meeting was organized by the Lee County Health Coalition to explore how the community can work together to get the problem under control. [continues 687 words]
Cancer patients could die a painful death without it, and drug addicts could die from abusing it. Medical professionals and law enforcement officials are struggling to make sure neither happens. OxyContin _ a miracle drug to some, a killer to others _ has become the recreational narcotic of choice in Southwest Virginia and quickly is reaching urban areas like Washington as well. ``I've never seen anything like this _ heart disease, cancer, AIDS, anything. It's killing a generation of people,'' said Jimmy Woodward, a sheriff's major in Lee County _ one area that has been hit hard by OxyContin abuse. [continues 1428 words]
A former Buchanan County sheriff's deputy told a jury Wednesday that he lost his job and became estranged from his fiancee after years of abusing prescription drugs. ``I depended on (drugs),'' Brian Elswick said. ``Every day I had to take them, sometimes five a day, sometimes 10.'' Elswick was the first prosecution witness to take the stand in the federal trial of Grundy doctor Franklin J. Sutherland, 46, who has been accused of prescribing drugs, including the potent painkiller OxyContin, without legitimate medical reason. [continues 410 words]
For a while, Mary slept in a recliner because the pain of getting in and out of a bed was too much to bear. Whatever rest she managed to get was squeezed in between having to take pain medication every four hours, and by the time she had eaten a little something so the pills would not upset her stomach, she was lucky to sleep at all. And sometimes sleep can be the only peace a cancer patient has. Mary had breast cancer five years ago, and bone and bone marrow tests in January showed that the disease had returned, infecting her spine, pelvis and liver. Today, with the pain only getting worse, she says she cannot imagine going back to those sleepless nights. Mary, 54, of Marion, is one of thousands of cancer patients who rely on OxyContin and is fighting efforts to have the drug banned. [continues 491 words]
ABINGDON _ A Grundy doctor facing federal drug charges told a jury Tuesday he prescribed narcotics to ease his patients' suffering. Dr. Franklin J. Sutherland told jurors he prescribed the drugs to soothe the suffering of patients with serious injuries, chronic pain and deep depression from years of heavy labor in the heart of coal-mining country. However, federal prosecutors contend some of his patients were drug-dependent and that he ignored signs of their addiction. Tuesday was the sixth day of trial for the doctor, who now faces 565 counts of illegally prescribing diet drugs, tranquilizers and narcotic painkillers without a legitimate medical purpose. [continues 470 words]
ABINGDON - A Grundy doctor faces multiple life prison terms after a jury convicted him Friday of writing hundreds of drug prescriptions to apparently addicted patients. After three days of deliberating, a federal jury found Dr. Franklin J. Sutherland, 46, guilty of 430 counts of prescribing narcotics without legitimate medical purpose. The jury acquitted him of 135 of the 565 counts in the indictment. He was charged with prescribing high-powered pain pills, including morphine-like OxyContin. Throughout the trial, prosecutors portrayed Sutherland as a sophisticated drug dealer, but defense attorneys said he was a good-hearted doctor who tried to ease his patients' pain. [continues 425 words]
Cancer patients could die a painful death without it, and drug addicts could die from abusing it. Medical professionals and law enforcement officials are struggling to make sure neither happens. OxyContin _ a miracle drug to some, a killer to others _ has become the recreational narcotic of choice in Southwest Virginia and quickly is reaching urban areas like Washington as well. ``I've never seen anything like this _ heart disease, cancer, AIDS, anything. It's killing a generation of people,'' said Jimmy Woodward, a sheriff's major in Lee County _ one area that has been hit hard by OxyContin abuse. [continues 1429 words]
To the editor: I would like to applaud the students and teachers at Virginia High School who are insisting that the "zero-tolerance" policy be followed regarding the students who have been caught smoking marijuana in a school bathroom. Our society is falling apart because of people's refusal to take responsibility for their actions. By giving the students a "slap on the hand" in order to avoid disrupting their education, the School Board is not doing these students any favors. On the other hand, if the board were to enforce the rules that "law-abiding" students are following, maybe a year of sitting out of school functions would give the students time to reflect about the poor choices they are making. Schools are expected to teach "character education." What kind of lesson are the rule-breakers learning from the 20-day punishment. Tamyra Kennedy Norton, Va. [end]
To the editor: I am appalled by the attempt to remove oxycontin from the market. People who advocate that are overlooking two things: 1. The drug is not the problem; abusers are the problem. 2. Advocates probably have never been in severe, long-term pain. In 1998 I broke a vertebrae in an auto accident. At the same time, a kidney stone was dislodged and became very painful. I did not get lithotrypsy for several weeks. I was in extreme pain and several drugs were tried for pain relief. Only morphine and then oxycontin were effective, without undesirable side effects. My back pain lasted for over a year. This drug allowed me to survive the long-term pain and function daily. No other drug worked so well. [continues 367 words]
"Zero tolerance," a no-nonsense drug policy enacted by the Bristol Virginia School Board in 1998, has been put under a magnifying glass by teachers at Virginia High School in recent days. On Feb. 28, school officials say, two students were found smoking marijuana in a school bathroom. Instead of being expelled, as many VHS teachers have suggested would have been appropriate under the policy, the two were suspended for 20 days. A third student was charged with felony drug distribution and was expelled for a year. [continues 709 words]
BLOUNTVILLE - Federal, state and local authorities have pulled off what a veteran prosecutor called the largest drug bust in Sullivan County in at least a quarter of a century. Seven people have been arrested on cocaine-trafficking charges stemming from indictments that had been sealed since November. They were handed down after federal authorities arrested a man trying to buy 22 kilograms of cocaine at a Kingsport hotel in April, authorities said. That man, Gerald Scott Long, since has pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking and is awaiting sentencing. [continues 574 words]
School Board Members Question Need To Include Caffeine On List BLOUNTVILLE _ Sullivan County school leaders delayed adoption of a drug-testing policy for student athletes Monday night, questioning the need to test for caffeine and ambiguity about who would be tested. Director of Schools John O'Dell earlier indicated that the Board of Education would vote on the draft policy, to be implemented in the fall. But he recommended delaying it after questions from board members and board attorney Pat Hull. [continues 457 words]
