RICHMOND, Va. — After nearly 30 fatal overdoses in southwest Virginia were attributed to the synthetic morphine OxyContin, state Attorney General Mark Earley is asking for a meeting with the drug's maker to review the way the painkiller is marketed.

        In a letter to the president of Purdue Pharma LP of Connecticut, Mr. Earley said OxyContin “is now routinely described as the "street drug' of choice in this part of Virginia,” and its illegal use is a growing problem.

        Mr. Earley's request comes in the wake of reports that illegal use of the drug in the state's mountainous corner has resulted in 28 overdoses in the last two years and 32 deaths in the last four.

        The drug's abuse has emerged as a big problem throughout Appalachia. An eight-month drug investigation in eastern Kentucky culminated recently with the ar rests of 207 people on charges involving OxyContin trafficking or abuse. A U.S. attorney based in Lexington, Ky., called it the biggest drug bust in Kentucky history.

        An official with Purdue Pharma, which won FDA approval in 1996 to sell OxyContin, said Thursday that company officials want to sit down with Mr. Earley.

        “We're fully supportive of law-enforcement efforts to curb the illegal abuse of our products, or anybody else's products,” company spokesman James Heins said.

        OxyContin, which comes in tablets ranging from 10 mg to 160 milligrams, is typically prescribed for patients in acute pain, such as those suffering from terminal cancer or crippling arthritis. Those who obtain it illegally crush it and snort or inject it to get the same kind of euphoric high that heroin brings.

        Earley spokesman David Botkins said Mr. Earley hopes to invite attorneys general from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland and Ohio to any meeting he has with Purdue Pharma representatives.

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