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Prescription Drugs Are the New Narcotic of Choice, Says LA Times

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime & Justice News, May 20, 2008

"Health professionals and dishonest patients are

diverting powerful and potentially addictive

prescription drugs from legitimate medical channels,

helping to fuel a shift toward pharmaceuticals as

drugs of choice, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Pharmacy thefts, robberies and burglaries also are

contributing to the problem, investigators say, along

with prescription forgeries and Internet pharmacies

that require little information before shipping drugs.

Nationwide, 25 million doses of commonly abused

drugs were reported stolen last year.

In California, the drug diversion problem has caught

the attention of state Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown, who plans

to upgrade the state's monitoring system to allow

health practitioners to check patients' histories before

prescribing potentially dangerous medications. The

federal government's most recent survey reported that

7 million Americans engaged in nonmedical use of

pharmaceuticals in 2006 -- up from 6 million two

years earlier. And that usage was higher than for any

illicit drug except marijuana. Prescription drugs 'are

quickly becoming the drug of choice and abuse,'  said

one police official."

Los Angeles Times - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=0012JJF05HfmyxN87gAZ5EsIuhFcW6LUsHKfSRc7LDcqce-uYzPuohtTJqoiq92Oc7Qhek_6DX7ugPqEZ1-mMCXdDtrGNFiMjYxoFzIbkbG5C16xO8gQli4PtVmzP7F8maO6G6FXDnjBIFJHnfV_PbzXXxmsr726303CRvcDWNb6QBbGTmUcuH-yNFV_LdWtNgw

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on May 20, 2008 (boomark / email).