Published: January 30, 2009 09:52 pm      

OxyContin civil settlement: Addiction treatment gets funds

RICHMOND, Va. — Southwest Virginians were criss-crossing the state Friday with members of the Tazewell County delegation meeting with Gov. Timothy Kaine Friday morning, and State Senator Phillip P. Puckett, D-Russell, flying to Abingdon, Va., with Attorney General Bob McDonnell to announce an award of $650,000-plus of OxyContin civil settlement funds for drug abuse, prevention and treatment initiatives.

“I had a bill in the 2006 session that would require drug testing for coal miners,” Puckett said after the press conference in Abingdon. “There was no funding in that bill, but coal companies helped out. The attorney general announced today that he was awarding $150,000 from the Pardue Pharma L.P. civil settlement to the Depart-ment of Mines Minerals and Energy to set up a treatment program for coal miners who test positive. They can get their jobs back if they complete the program.”

Puckett traveled with State Senator William C. Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, and Delegate Terry G. Kilgore, R-Scott and McDonnell to Virginia Highlands Airport to make the announcement. He said the Appalachian Substance Abuse Coalition for prevention and treatment received $200,000 and the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services received $306,413.80.

The funds came as a result of Purdue Pharma L.P.’s settlement with 26 states and the District of Columbia regarding the promotion and marketing of OxyContin, according to a press release from McDonnell’s office.

Puckett said that the Senate was “a little more productive” this week as the General Assembly moves closer to cross-over day on Feb. 10. “For me, it’s always productive when the home folks come to Richmond,” Puckett said.

Tazewell County Administrator Jim Spencer said the delegation’s meeting with Kaine Friday morning was productive. “At this time of the session, the governor has an extremely tight schedule,” Spencer said. “About 20 folks from Tazewell County visited with Gov. Kaine (Friday) morning. We brought him an Ellen Elms painting of Paint Lick Mountain and two hand-carved walking sticks.

“He and his family do a lot of hiking, and he joked with us that he sometimes uses an old wiffle ball bat as a walking stick,” Spencer said. “We talked with him a little bit about the Bluestone project. Everybody seems to be making their pitches on so-called shovel-ready projects. We are always trying to present the best that Tazewell County has to offer when we’re in Richmond.”

Spencer said the Southwest Virginia legislative reception Thursday night at the Omni attracted a large crowd with several members of the General Assembly, as well as “the big wheels” of several state agencies.

— Contact Bill Archer at barcher@bdtonline.com