PRESCRIPTION Drugs

Illegal Procurement of Pharmaceuticals
There are a number of ways to illegally acquire prescription drugs. Click on the links below to find out more information.

Doctor Shopping
Forged and Altered Prescriptions
Internet
Pharmacy Robberies and Burglaries
Health Facility Thefts
Health Professional Crimes
Foreign Smuggling

Doctor Shopping
Doctor shopping is a common method of obtaining prescription drugs illegally. This involves seeing multiple doctors to obtain a pharmaceutical drug. In the vast majority of the cases, the doctors do not know that the patient is seeing other practitioners and receiving the same drugs. This practice is also illegal, and a felony in the State of Ohio. Doctor shoppers can obtain large amounts of their drug of choice to be used to feed their own addiction, sell on the illicit market, or a combination of both.

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Forged and Altered Prescriptions
These offenses involve either writing a totally false prescription, or by altering a prescription written by a practitioner. Alterations are usually attempted when the perpetrator wants more pills than prescribed, a higher strength, additional refills, or even a complete change in the drug prescribed.

The alteration of any part of a prescription in Ohio can be a felony drug offense, in addition to writing a totally false prescription. This includes altering the date, name, or other information required on a prescription.

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Internet
The Internet has become an enormous source of information on virtually every topic imaginable. It should surprise no one that this resource would also be used by those involved in criminal enterprises. It should be made clear that there are a number of very legitimate Internet pharmacies that require a prescription by a local practitioner in order to fill your prescription. These pharmacies are NOT the ones being discussed in this section.

In order for a prescription to be valid it must be for a legitimate medical purpose. This typically requires a face to face visit to a legitimate practitioner who will likely conduct a physical exam and request information from the patient, before writing a prescription, if appropriate.

This is an impossible task when the person authorizing the prescription has not seen the patient, and is relying on an online questionnaire, or even a brief phone conversation. The person authorizing the prescription in these cases on the Internet may not be a legitimate physician; they may not have a license to practice in your state, and in many cases, may reside outside the United States. No physical exam has been consummated, and the only important issue to the person on the website is whether you have a valid credit card, or will pay for a C.O.D. delivery of the drugs.

It is important to know that these kinds of operations are illegal and are pursued by local, state, and federal authorities, including the drug task force. Persons receiving these drugs are also potentially in violation of the law since these drugs were obtained without a legitimate prescription with no bona fide doctor-patient relationship being established.

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Pharmacy Robberies and Burglaries
Another significant source of illegal prescription drugs on the street is through pharmacy robbery and burglary. Robberies are a face to face encounter by the criminal, often with a weapon, demanding prescription drugs. Burglaries, on the other hand, usually occur when the pharmacy is closed, and are the result of some kind of forced entry. Large numbers of pharmaceuticals can be obtained through these two methods and ultimately distributed on the street.

Effective crime prevention tactics are one way to assist in preventing these crimes at our local pharmacies. A recent pharmacy robbery in Lebanon netted the perpetrator over 1,100 OxyContin® tablets having a street value of over $40,000. The pills were being sold for up to $30 a piece until the drug task force and Lebanon Police were able to identify and arrest the suspect at a local motel across from the pharmacy.

The drug task force and our local police departments participate in the program RxPatrol. This program, funded by pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, allows for law enforcement and pharmacists across the country to enter valuable data about each offense. The data base can then be searched to see if like or similar offenses have occurred anywhere else in the United States. RxPatrol’s website can be accessed at www.rxpatrol.org.

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Health Facility Thefts
Prescription drugs are also diverted from their legal path through thefts from hospitals and nursing homes. However, many of these thefts are perpetrated by those that are self-addicted, and are not making them available for street sales.

These are offenses that the drug task force monitors closely when reported by health facilities in Warren County or Wilmington. When these kinds of thefts occur the person responsible not only commits a serious crime, but oftentimes may jeopardize the safety or comfort of the patient, who is the innocent victim. We make these a top priority when they are discovered.

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Health Professional Crimes
The vast majority of physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and other health professionals, are caring people working in a sometimes thankless profession. However, like all professions, a small percentage will take advantage of their ability to prescribe, dispense, or administer prescription drugs, and end up committing crimes.

A significant amount of prescription drugs can end up in the illegal market through the extensive and reckless prescribing of a practitioner. Although the motive usually involves monetary gain, drugs for sex or illicit drugs can also be involved. These cases may also involve health care fraud, money laundering, and drug trafficking. Typically these types of operations will involve the addiction of hundreds of patients, and will make the drugs prescribed very available on the street.

Needless to say, pharmacies keep in stock large amounts of prescription drugs. This can also become a lucrative target for pharmacy employees to divert these drugs to street sales and use.

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Foreign Smuggling
Our borders between Canada and Mexico provide criminals movement between their country and ours. Until the drug task force uncovered a major prescription drug smuggling ring, we were unaware of the scope of this problem coming into southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky.

Through a recent investigation it was discovered that a local criminal enterprise was responsible for bringing in millions of alprazolam (Xanax®) pills into the region. The purchases took place for over 3 years over the Mexican border near Austin, Texas. We arranged for a purchase of over 90,000 of these pills, and over 100 pounds of marijuana. Three people were arrested after delivering the pills to an undercover officer, and face federal conspiracy charges today.

There is no way to effectively measure the extent of this problem of foreign smuggling of prescription drugs. It is possible that the problem is much bigger than first thought and that law enforcement is only intercepting a small percentage of pharmaceuticals flowing into the United States.