Prescription Drug Abuse

According to neighborhoodscout.com Trenton, N.J. has a population of 84,913 and it has a crime index of 11 – 100 being the safest.  If you lived in New Jersey you have a 1 in 324 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime and if you lived in Trenton, N.J. you have a 1 in 70 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime. Just recently Trenton had 15 murders, 14 rapes, 500 robberies and 671 assaults.  Not surprisingly, nearby Edison drug rehabs are also kept quite busy. These figures are collected by the FBI from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies.  For every one thousand residents there will be 45 who will be a victim.  It is not among the communities with the very highest crime rate.  Although it is number 31 on the top 100 most dangerous cities to live in.

Nj.com is reporting today April 19, 2012 that state officials are doubling the number of places in New Jersey to safely dispose of unused prescription drugs.  Covanta Energy Corp, a Morristown-based waste-to-energy and renewable energy company is agreeing to destroy the prescription drugs for free.  Attorney General Jeffery Chiesa said, “This initiative, called Project medicine Drop, will expand to locations at the Cherry Hill Police Department, Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, Lower Township Police Department and the Toms River Police Department.

The state Division of Consumer Affairs installs lockable, metal boxes at select police and sheriff’s offices.  So anyone can dispose of unused prescription drugs at any time and no one will ask questions. Of course there is a goal for this program and it is to get unused prescription drugs out of household medicine cabinets.  Some of these medicines are found by teenagers who then abuse them.

This whole idea started in November of last year with locations in Little Falls, Seaside Heights and Vineland.  Chiesa said, “Residents turned in far more drugs than expected, and the departments were faced with the high cost of having to dispose of them.”  Covanta has agreed to accept the drugs and destroy them.  This company does this in other states as well and their process is approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

It seems like the officials in Trenton are doing a good deed to fight the war on drugs.  Many other cities in these United States are doing the same.  Drugs harm our communities in many ways.  If you know someone who wants to get off drugs get them to an inpatient treatment center or one of the prescription drug rehabs where they can detox and withdraw in a safe and natural way.  Something can be done about it.

According to neighborhoodscout.com Desert Hot Springs, CA has a population of 25,938 with a crime index of 3 with 100 being the safest.  If you lived in California you would have a 1 in 226 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime and if you lived in Desert Hot Springs, CA you would have a 1 in 69 chance of becoming a victim of violent crime.  FBI reports that just recently Desert Hot Springs has had 3 murders, 8 rapes, 67 robberies and 296 assaults.  This information is collected from 17,000 local law enforcement agencies.  For every one thousand residents there will be 68 of them that will be a victim.  Desert Hot Springs, CA is number 28 in the top 100 most dangerous cities to live in. Not surprisingly, nearby Los Angeles drug rehabs are kept quite busy as well.

Uniondemocrat.com reported just recently that a pharmacist plead guilty to felony grand theft and misdemeanor possession of alprazolam (Xanax) for sale.  The case for this incident started back a year ago.  This 61 year old pharmacist was arrested by Angles Camp Police department.  When they did a legal search they found $3,000 worth of prescription medications in his car.  It seems that the security officers for the Rite Aid where he worked were the ones that called the police.  There is not doubt by the police that he was intending on selling these drugs.  For this kind of violation he is facing a maximum of 120 days of jail and three years probation.  He will be sentenced in Department 1 of the Calaveras County Superior court.  His plea was in exchange for dropping some other charges like possession of pain killers and diet pills. 

The pharmacist got into a 90 day in-patient drug treatment program in Desert Hot Springs in Southern California.  He did that as part of the California State Board of Pharmacy’s Pharmacists Recovery Program.  He has been a licensed pharmacist for more than 24 years and it had remained clear.

Kim Brown, spokeswoman for the Board of Pharmacy said, “The board cannot confirm or deny whether a pharmacist is being investigated.  I have no information on the details of this case.  A conviction like that would definitely be grounds for opening an investigation if one hadn’t been opened before.  Any action taken against a pharmacist’s license is not recorded publicly until an investigation is completed.”

Drugs are everywhere in this country.  Doing these stories I become very aware that many are involved in taking, selling and distributing drugs.  For some people it is the money it brings to them.  For some like in this example it is the addiction they have to these drugs.  I can imagine it is very easy for a pharmacist to just reach out on the shelf and take some pills.  If you know someone who wants to get off drugs get them to an inpatient treatment center or one of the prescription drug rehabs where they can get safe and natural ways to detox and withdraw.  Something can be done about it.