Prescription drug abuse is on the rise in Lincoln County, said County Attorney Eric Phillips. The dangers and crimes associated with prescription drugs abuse are something that everyone needs to be more aware of, he said.

“Of late, the use and abuse of prescription drugs has been on the rise in Lincoln County,” said Phillips. “The most commonly abused drugs include Percocet, Valium, Xanax, Vicodin, Oxycodone, and Oxycontin. The fact that these drugs are typically prescribed by a doctor does not make them safe. According to a recent study, prescription drugs are the second most commonly abused category of drugs, behind marijuana and ahead of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.”

The statistics associated with prescription drug abuse are alarming. The National Institutes of Health estimates that nearly 20 percent of people in the United States have used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.

In 2000, nearly 43 percent of individuals that were  hospitalized for drug overdoses were hospitalized due to the abuse of prescription medications.

“Contributing to the problem is the availability of these types of drugs,” said Phillips. “In many cases, prescription drugs are obtained via the internet by using a foreign or overseas pharmacy. These drugs can often be illegally obtained without a valid prescription.”

According to Phillips, many individuals who abuse prescriptions are teenagers who have to look no further than the family medicine cabinet.

“A large percentage of those abusing prescription medications are teenagers,” Phillips said. “Teenagers are often able to easily obtain medication because parents have the medication available in the home.  In one recent case, a teenager became addicted to the pain pill Hydrocodone because the drug had been prescribed to his mother following back surgery.  The mother only took a couple of the pills prescribed and left the mostly full bottle in the medicine cabinet.  The teenager started out by taking only a few of the remaining pills.  After a short period of time, however, the teenager was emptying the bottle and exploring illegal ways to obtain more Hydrocodone.”

The side affects of using prescriptions for non-medical reasons is only part of the danger, Phillips said. Addiction to prescription drugs usually leads to the addict engaging in illegal activities in order to feed the  habit.

“Once a person becomes addicted to these types of medications, it is extremely difficult to quit,” said Phillips. “Drug addiction is a biological and pathological process that changes the way the brain functions.  These long-lasting changes are a major component of an individual’s addiction.  It is as if there is a figurative “switch” in a person’s brain.  Once a person starts using drugs, that “switch” gets turned on and an individual is transformed from a user into an addict. Individuals who are addicted to certain medications will often go to great lengths to obtain more drugs.”

According to Phillips, in Lincoln County over the last year, prescription addict activities have included illegal  entry into homes in an attempt to obtain prescription medications.

“Usually these people will knock first and if nobody comes to the door, they will enter the home and search for medication,” said Phillips. “If somebody comes to the door, they will falsely claim to be asking for directions or looking for work.”

Phillips urged residents of Lincoln County not to contribute to the prescription drug addiction epidemic by being responsible prescription users.

“People who have addictive prescription medications in their home should take caution,” Phillips said. “These medications should not be stored in medicine cabinets or in places easy to locate.  Prescriptions should be taken as recommended by a doctor and disposed of when they are no longer being used.  Moreover, people should lock their doors and be cautious of strangers entering [their] home.”