Prescription Drug Addiction, Crime and Teens
There are so many crimes connected to illegal prescription drugs but it takes a teenager to get really creative with it. As prescription drug abuse rises, so does crime.
Prescription Drug Addiction and Crime
Here’s a short list of the kinds of crime associated with the diversion of prescription drugs from their intended recipient and purpose:
* Stealing prescription pads
* Changing the number of pills on a valid prescription
* Robbing drug stores
* Stealing pills from family member’s or friend’s medicine cabinets
* Purchasing pills on the street or from others with valid prescriptions
* Fraudulently procuring double and triple prescriptions through “doctor shopping”
Prescription Drug Addiction and Teenagers
John Beyer is the deputy police chief of Duluth. About teens and their prescription drug related crime, he says:
“They’re predominately stealing it for themselves because they need it, and they are desperate. Over the last couple of years we’ve had several pharmacy robberies where criminals enter and take pharmaceutical drugs and not ask for any money. They don’t need the money to buy drugs because they get the drugs in the robbery.’’
Prescription Drug Addiction, Violence and Teens
As for violent crimes associated with prescription drug addiction and teens, it’s not as significant as it is with other drugs. Dan Chicos is a lieutenant with the Duluth police department and the commander of the Lake Superior Drug and Gang Task Force. He says:
“There’s not violence associated with pharmaceuticals with the frequency you see in the cocaine industry and the methamphetamine trade, but whenever you have people who need drugs, or are trading them or bartering them and there’s some profitability, there’s always the potential for violence.’’
Prescription Drug Addiction, Teens and Pharm Parties
Perhaps the most scary crime that teens commit around prescription drug abuse are the “pharm parties.” These are parties where each invitee brings some pills that they have scavenged from their parents’ or grandparents’ medicine cabinets and… well, let me allow Lt. Chicos to tell you:
“A pharm party is basically a bunch of young people that get together and everyone will bring some type of pharmaceutical or prescription narcotic to the party. Someone will say, ‘My grandma takes Lortabs, I’ll bring the Lortabs.’ Someone else brings Ritalin. Someone brings OxyContin. Basically, it creates a smorgasbord of prescription narcotics at the party.’’
Because the kids mix and match without even knowing what they’re taking as well as adding alcohol into the mix, this is often a deadly practice.
Have you noticed a rise in prescription drug abuse in your area? Or crime related to prescription drug addiction among teens or adults? What do you see as a solution?
Tags: Prescription Drug Addiction, prescription drug rehab, teen drug abuse, Teen Drug Rehab
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