Prescription Medications Take on Leading Role in Illegal Drug Trade - Nursing Link

Brian Freskos | Star-News, Wilmington, N.C.

February 22, 2011

Feb. 17—When Lt. J.A. LeBlanc arrived at the New Hanover County Vice and Narcotics Unit in 2001, one detective could handle the volume of prescription drug cases. Now, he said, all 16 detectives investigate them.

Street drugs such as cocaine and heroin have long been the targets of authorities seeking to root out illicit substances. But in recent years, growing prescription drug abuse has shifted law enforcement’s focus to stemming the flow of dangerous medications onto the black market.

Abuse of prescription medications, particularly narcotic pain relievers such as hydrocodone and oxycodone, is rising precipitously, leading White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske last June to call it the “nation’s fastest-growing drug problem.” Between 1998 and 2008, treatment admissions for prescription pill addicts posted a 400 percent increase, according to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Southeastern North Carolina has not escaped what many law enforcement officials call an epidemic. Between 2004 and 2010, the New Hanover County Vice and Narcotics Unit seized nearly 15,100 pills — 3,749 of them in 2010 alone, the largest county pill haul in four years.

via nursinglink.monster.com

--

Any questions, please drop me a line.

******************************************************
Follow us on:

What's New:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/new/

Blogger:
http://4nursing.blogspot.com/

Facebook:
http://www.nursefriendly.com/facebook

Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/nursefriendly

Nursing Entrepreneurs, Nurses In Business
http://nursingentrepreneurs.ning.com/

Twitter!
http://www.nursefriendly.com/twitter

StumbleUpon,
http://www.nursefriendly.com/stumbleupon
******************************************************

Sincerely,

Andrew Lopez, RN
Nursefriendly, Inc. A New Jersey Corporation.
38 Tattersall Drive, Mantua New Jersey 08051
http://www.nursefriendly.com info@nursefriendly.com ICQ #6116137
856-415-9617, (fax) 415-9618

150,000 + Nurse-Reviewed & Approved Nursing Links

http://www.4nursing.com
http://www.legalnursingconsultant.com
http://www.nursinghumor.com
http://www.nursefriendly.com
http://www.nursingcasestudy.com
http://www.nursingentrepreneurs.com
http://www.nursingexperts.com