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Prescription meds ... new illegal drug of choice
By Peggy Blackburn
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The local area isn’t immune to the latest trend in illicit drug use. Abuse of prescription medications is a growing problem, according to members of the Wetumpka Police Department.
“It’s not overtaking the illegal drugs like methadone, cocaine and marijuana, but it’s becoming a big thing,” said Lt. Gary Edwards. “And a lot of different people out there are abusing prescription drugs. It’s not just what you think of as drug addicts.
“There’s everything from teenagers to housewives to businessmen,” he said. “And it’s not only lower income people either; there are middle- and upper-income ones using, too.”
Wetumpka Police Chief Bill Pertree said current economic woes heighten drug use.
“With the downturn in the economy and today’s society being high-paced and stressful, more people are turning to drugs to escape their problems. All that does is compound them,” he said. “Using is a way some people handle stress, and people turn to drugs and alcohol.”
Edwards and the city’s narcotic and vice officer explained that the top prescription medications of choice are Lortab and OxyContin.
Lortab is an acetaminophen and hydrocodone compound. OxyContin is oxycodone. Both fall into the category of narcotic pain relievers. Medically, both are used to relieve moderate to severe pain.
“OxyContin is really becoming a big problem,” said the narcotics officer. “It was initially intended as a cancer-fighting drug, but now it’s being given for pain suppression.
“You really can’t predict what effect these drugs will have on people -- that’s why they’re prescription meds,” he said. “Some people get a ‘buzz’ and others have the opposite reaction.”
The officers noted that many times users combine various prescription drugs or mix them with alcohol.
“There are a lot of dangers to taking prescription medications,” said Edwards. “For instance, if people take too much Lortab they can damage their kidneys.”
He also pointed to a recent local case in which a teen died after taking methadone given to him by a friend.
“Now that kid has been convicted because of it,” Edwards said. “A lot of times kids think that prescription drugs aren’t as bad as cocaine and marijuana. They don’t seem to understand that it’s just as illegal to possess prescriptions if they’re not prescribed to them.”
The practice of getting high or low from prescription drugs is nicknamed “pharming” and accounts for about one-third of all drug abuse today, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Users don’t have to purchase their drugs in dark alleys and most are relatively inexpensive.
“They can get them cheap, or free if insurance or Medicare pays the bill,” said Edwards. “A bottle of Lortab might only cost $4. Then if they’re selling them, they can get $2 to $5 each, depending on the strength. So if they’re distributing, they could make as much as $500 pretty quickly.”
There are a variety of facets to the problem of prescription drug abuse, officers said. Prescriptions are obtained through fraud or forgery, and sometimes pharmacies are burglarized. And some people get the drugs for their own use, while others want them to sell.
“These have become a very hot item,” said Edwards. “We always caution doctors to be aware of a patient’s history when prescribing pain medications. One of the subjects we’ve been investigating has a doctor who has given them 120 at a time. Apparently they had not checked to see if she was getting meds from other doctors. But she was going from one doctor or clinic to another, getting prescriptions every week.”
The investigation, which spans almost a year, uncovered a pattern in which the woman was obtaining prescriptions for various painkillers in different dosages.
“She’ll be charged with about 10 counts,” Edwards said. “We could have given the district attorney’s office many more than that, but after a certain number there’s really no point.
“I don’t think everyone understands the laws they’re breaking when they illegally use prescription drugs,” he added. “Prescription forgery and obtaining prescriptions by fraud ranks right up there with forged checks. It is a felony charge and they can go to prison for it.”
Edwards explained that the department is often tipped off by pharmacy workers when a suspicious prescription is received.
“Most of the time it will be when they get a prescription for Lortab and it’s written out for too many or too often. Just this week, we were called because of a Lortab prescription that was checked for two refills. Doctors just don’t give refills on them,” he said. “A lot of these subjects doctor-shop. They’ll go from one doctor or urgent care center to another. There is a state data base, but it doesn’t seem to be used very effectively.”
He said police also work with the state medical board and state pharmaceutical board concerning those who write too many prescriptions.
“And most of the doctors in our area are good about informing us of patients who seem to have a problem -- the ones who come in demanding pain killers or asking for certain ones by name,” Edwards said. “Doctors are really cooperative in these ‘script cases. And in forgery cases, most are really willing to prosecute.”
Officers complete specialized training to help them address the prescription drug problem.
“All of our investigators have been to pharmaceutical diversion school,” said Edwards. “They can ID these drugs and deal with them.”
He noted that the growing incidence of prescription drug abuse stretches the department’s resources.
“It’s getting to the point where we need full-time vice and narcotics officers,” Edwards said. “We’re very serious about pursuing these prescription forgers. We will prosecute them.”
