The Associated Press
The fight against illegal drug use in West Virginia will get a $44 million boost from the maker of OxyContin, Gov. Joe Manchin’s office announced today.
The state’s share is part of a $634.5 million fine the Stamford, Conn.-based company Purdue Pharma and three of its current and former executives agreed to pay for misleading the public about the drug’s risk of addiction.
The money is more than four times the $10 million the company paid the state in 2004 to settle a civil case.
Manchin spokeswoman Lara Ramsburg said officials with the State Police and the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety are reviewing drug eradication priorities and should have a plan for the $44 million by the time it arrives, perhaps within a month or two. The money could be spent on equipment, upgrading technology or boosting training opportunities.
“All those details are being worked out,’' she said. “It’s a very substantial amount that we think can make a real difference in our continuing war on drugs in West Virginia.’'
The money is going to the State Police because it helped the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia investigate the OxyContin case.
It was not immediately clear how much the State Police now spends on drug eradication across the state. A phone call to the Department of Military Affairs and Public was not immediately returned.
The 2004 settlement was distributed to programs that combat prescription drug abuse.