Prescription drugs can be just as dangerous as illegal drugs!

I have talked a lot about the effects drugs can have on people, and we see the results of what they can do every day. Methamphetamines, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin are some of the most popular drugs that people hear about and know is a problem on our streets. But there is another group of drugs that have just as much of an effect on our streets and can cause the same problems as the others do, these are prescription drugs.

Prescription drugs can often be a starter for someone that ends up taking illegal drugs and can also be just as addicting and deadly. It is very common for us to make arrests for the possession of methamphetamines and find illegal prescription drugs as well. And by "illegal prescription drugs," I mean in the possession of someone other than who the doctor prescribed them to. These drugs fall into the black market by stealing them from people who have a legitimate need and prescription to have them and also by people who may have them prescribed to them, but then sell some or all of them instead of taking them as the doctor instructed them too.

Although it is becoming harder to do, another common way of obtaining prescription drugs in the past is to go to different doctors in different towns and be treated for the same thing and receive multiple prescriptions. This is becoming harder to do with new technology and communications between doctors and pharmacies. The most common thing that law enforcement deals with involving prescription drugs is the person that calls and says they had their pills stolen and needs a police report so they can go get a refill from the pharmacy.

Even when the drugs are obtained legally and are not sold to anyone else, we often find that people simply started taking more than what they were told to take and became addicted. This is often caught by doctors and medications are changed to something that is not addicting, but there are people that turn to illegal drugs after that because they want to find something that makes them feel what they were feeling before.

We also see a lot of cases where people have some type of a controlled medication and instead of destroying it when they no longer need it, they save it thinking they will let their friends, spouse, and even their children take the pills when they are ill or in pain thinking they will save on money by not going to the doctor or buying medications again. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention nearly 15,000 people die each year from over doses involving these drugs.

We can often miss what is right in front of us, if we focus too hard on just one thing. We see a drug problem when we see someone with a needle, crack pipe, track marks on their arms, and bloodshot eyes. But it can also be someone you know would never be around illegal drugs, someone who started taking pain killers, or some other type of controlled drug and could not stop once they started. If a doctor's orders are not followed, people may not realize they are becoming addicted until it is too late.

I would encourage those taking any type of prescription medication to make sure it is kept locked up and out of the hands of children, and anyone else who may be tempted to take it. When you are done with the medication, dispose of it instead of keeping it around. It is one more way we can help make our community a little safer.