THE PRESCRIBERS

HAMILTON, Ohio - Legal problems have also stalked the doctor who in
early 2001 was the No. 2 prescriber of OxyContin in salesman Shane
Foster's territory northwest of Cincinnati, court records show.

Dr. Bruce Worrell was sued in Kentucky in July 2001 over the death of
a Clay County man a year earlier; the suit claimed he died of a drug
overdose. Worrell had prescribed OxyContin at his Cincinnati office to
Elva Hubbard the day before Hubbard died, the lawsuit claimed. The
suit also named Purdue Pharma, the drug's maker, as a defendant.

For the six months between December 2000 and May 2001, Worrell was the
No. 2 OxyContin prescriber in Purdue's sales territory that includes
Butler County, Ohio, according to records in a separate lawsuit there.

Worrell couldn't be reached for comment, but at the time he denied any
wrongdoing related to Hubbard's death. A federal judge in London
eventually dismissed the complaint, saying the court lacked
jurisdiction. The judge later dismissed the case against Purdue, too.

But Worrell's troubles weren't over. In January this year, he was
indicted in Cincinnati on charges of obtaining a dangerous drug,
Vicodin, by deception. Ohio regulators subsequently suspended his
license for at least 180 days.

Scott Croswell, Worrell's lawyer in the latest case, noted that the
charges had nothing to do with OxyContin and said he expects them to
be dismissed. Worrell has admitted that he abused drugs and is
enrolled in a treatment program, Hamilton County court records show.
He has asked the court to accept that over a conviction.

Ohio doctor has had trouble in Kentucky too.