PORTLAND – A lawsuit that was the first in Maine to target the maker of OxyContin for someone’s drug addiction has been dismissed.

William Bushey’s lawyer asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, and the request was granted by U.S. District Judge Gene Carter on Jan. 2. The order does not prevent Bushey from filing the lawsuit again at a later date.

The lawsuit in U.S. District Court had accused Purdue Pharma and Abbott Laboratories of marketing the drug aggressively even when they knew people were abusing the drug and becoming addicted in the late 1990s.

Bushey, a guard at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, contended he became addicted to OxyContin after it was prescribed for back pain.

Chris Nyhan, a lawyer for Purdue Pharma, said the case was withdrawn because it had no merit.

It was the first and only lawsuit against Purdue Pharma over OxyContin abuse in Maine, Nyhan said. But more than a dozen have been filed in other states.

Bushey’s lawyer, John Hinck, said Friday that his client had personal reasons for dropping the suit and that the timing was not right. Hinck said he could file the lawsuit again before the six-year statute of limitations expires.

He also said he may bring lawsuits on behalf of other clients. His law firm, Lewis Saul & Associates, took out advertisements seeking people who abused OxyContin and was contacted by more than 100 people.

Bushey’s lawsuit, which was filed on Aug. 14 in Portland, named Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma LP along with several subsidiaries and Abbott Laboratories, which is based primarily in Chicago. It sought compensatory damages and punitive damages, along with legal fees.

OxyContin abuse first became widespread in Maine and in mountainous areas of Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee.

The drug is a slow-release narcotic painkiller. It is widely prescribed for victims of moderate to severe chronic pain resulting from such problems as arthritis, back trouble and cancer.

One pill is designed to last 12 hours, but those who abuse OxyContin usually crush the medicine and then snort or inject it, producing a heroinlike high.