In Michigan, for example, Purdue Pharma provided the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics Team with money for an undercover purchase of OxyContin and an informant's reward. The sting resulted in the arrest of a 51-year-old woman who was selling OxyContin from her home.

In the past year, St. Joseph County has received $51,000 from Purdue Pharma to pursue crimes involving OxyContin. Since 2002, the drug maker has provided more than $1.7 million in grants to police and sheriff's departments from California to Maine.

Police officials said the money has led to an increase in arrests for OxyContin-related crimes. But others question whether the funding is ethical.

"It's outside interference into the deployment of police resources," said John Kleinig, director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

Some police officials are also concerned. "The concern is that there would be a temptation for a police department to target problems and enforce laws for which they have the resources," said Bill Johnson, executive director of the National Association of Police Organizations, an umbrella group of police associations and unions.

He added if other industries adopted the same practice, "you'd have a bidding war over what laws are enforced."

Aaron Graham, Purdue Pharma's vice president of corporate security and a former agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, devised the donation plan in 2002 after police departments said they lacked the money, equipment, and manpower to investigate OxyContin-related crimes.

More than half of the grant money has been given to law-enforcement agencies in Kentucky and towns in Appalachia, where OxyContin misuse has been growing steadily. The funding has been used for community education, officer overtime, and equipment.

Graham said the company is pleased with the grant system and will continue to provide funding for prescription-drug abuse efforts.

COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE:

Your Turn! Post a public comment (read guidelines):

Name:
Comment: (limit 200 words)
Enter this word (help):	Change

GUIDELINES: 
To keep this feature useful for all, please:

1. Keep it clean, courteous, and on-topic. Comments are meant for thoughtful discussion of the article published above.
   
   
2. Do not post promotional links to organizations, products or services, or personal requests for assistance (get help).
   
   
3. Proof your comments carefully, use good spelling and punctuation, and don't use ALL CAPS. Comments are published immediately and cannot be edited.

Deceptive, slanderous and commercially-motivated posts are prohibited. We reserve the right to remove comments not conforming to these guidelines. (Report a comment).

Have questions or feedback? Contact us.