A national pharmaceutical company is helping train Kentucky law enforcement on how to address prescription pill abuse in their communities.Purdue Pharma helps produce some of the prescriptions often abused in Kentucky, including OxyCotin. This week at an FBI-sponsored conference, Purdue Pharma staff are giving a free training seminar to helping Kentucky health care officials and law enforcement address potential pill abuse. In recent years, Purdue Pharma has been helping train law enforcement officials on how to help crack down on illegal prescribing and abuse. John Gilbride, a law enforcement liaison for Purdue, says the company has frequently held the seminars in Kentucky. "We have been in Kentucky in the past, over the last several years we have done approximately five events in Kentucky, training hundreds of law enforcement officers in the Kentucky area," he said. Mark Geraci, a vice president and chief security officer for Purdue, says the company will continue their free seminars as long as needed. "I will tell you Purdue Pharma is committed to doing this, all these programs are for free because we know it's the right thing to do and we want to be part of the solution in dealing with this very serious problem of prescription pill diversion and abuse," he says.
