PORTLAND (AP) — The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin will fund an education campaign in Maine and three other states to combat prescription drug abuse among teenagers. Purdue Pharma said the campaign, which also is being launched in Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, represents the first effort by a pharmaceutical company to underwrite such an initiative. The states will each receive a $125,000 grant to fund public service announcements and educational materials from Purdue Pharma's "Painfully Obvious" campaign, both aimed at teens. "I've never heard of another drug company that has funded prevention efforts or put as much energy into prevention efforts as Purdue Pharma has," said Kim Johnson, director of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse. "And I think they should. We've had quite a problem with their product in the state of Maine." Purdue Pharma has been criticized for the misuse of OxyContin, which had annual sales of more than $1 billion in 2000 and is the company's best-selling product. Hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of severe chronic pain when it was released in 1996, the drug became a problem after users discovered that crushing the time-release tablets and snorting or injecting the contents can yield an immediate, intense high, similar to heroin. OxyContin has become a drug of choice for recreational users, particularly in eastern Maine, where it has been linked to a surge in crime. Law enforcement officials say other prescription drugs like Percocet, Dilaudid and Percodan also have been central to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. Purdue Pharma is working with the Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs to launch the prevention campaign targeting youths in grades 6-12 in Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Cumberland, York, Penobscot and Washington counties.
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