National
Drug Intelligence Center
OxyContin Diversion and Abuse
January 2001
Related Criminal
Activity
and Diversion
OxyContin abuse has led to an increased number of
pharmacy robberies, thefts, shoplifting incidents, and health care fraud
incidents, as illustrated by the following:
Maine-In
June 2000, the Bangor Daily News reported the arrest of an
individual charged with selling approximately $8,000 worth of OxyContin
weekly. The OxyContin was prescribed to the individual's wife to control
cancer-related pain. The husband illegally diverted some of the pills,
which allegedly were paid for by Medicaid, for a substantial profit.
Maine-In August 2000, the Portland Press Herald
reported that law enforcement authorities dismantled a drug ring accused
of obtaining OxyContin by forging prescriptions, having them filled at
pharmacies in southern Maine and New Hampshire, and covering the costs
with their Medicaid cards.
Ohio-A
heroin addict who learned about OxyContin at a methadone clinic
committed at least seven aggravated robberies in early 2000 attempting
to finance his 800-mg-a-day OxyContin habit.
Pennsylvania-The
Cambria County Drug Task Force views prescription fraud as the fastest
growing crime in Cambria County; an increase in the number of pharmacy
burglaries in the county is directly related to OxyContin abuse. For
example, on January 1, 2001, a robber stole more than $1,000 worth of
OxyContin from a local pharmacy.
Pennsylvania-In December 2000, the Pennsylvania State Police reported
an attempted armed robbery at a pharmacy in Clearfield County, where the
suspect sought OxyContin.
Virginia-The
Police Chief in Pulaski reported in October 2000 that approximately 90
percent of all thefts, burglaries, and shoplifting incidents in the area
were linked to the OxyContin trade.
Virginia-Prosecutors in Tazewell County reported in October 2000
that more than 150 people have been charged with felonies associated
with OxyContin abuse. Since February 1999, thieves reportedly demanded
only OxyContin in at least 10 pharmacy robberies. The high number of
robberies prompted some pharmacies in Tazewell County to discontinue
selling OxyContin and post signs stating they no longer would carry the
drug.
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Drugs such as OxyContin are diverted in a variety of
ways including pharmacy diversion, "doctor shopping," and
improper prescribing practices by physicians. Pharmacy diversion occurs
when individuals working in pharmacies take products directly from the
shelves, or when people make fraudulent prescriptions. Two pharmacists
in Mercer County, West Virginia, were charged in September 2000 with
illegally obtaining pain relieving hydrocodone pills. They allegedly
took the pills directly off the pharmacy shelves and created fraudulent
prescriptions. They then traded the drugs for sexual favors.
The most widely used diversion technique at the
street level is doctor shopping. Individuals, who may or may not have a
legitimate ailment requiring a doctor's prescription for controlled
substances, visit numerous doctors, sometimes in several states, to
acquire large amounts of controlled substances they abuse or sell to
others. This problem is pronounced in southwestern Virginia and southern
West Virginia.
Improper prescribing practices by unscrupulous
physicians are another way of diverting pharmaceuticals, according to
law enforcement sources surveyed by the NDIC. For example, a White
Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, physician was sentenced on October 24,
2000, and will spend more than 2 years in federal prison for Medicaid
fraud and for dispensing prescription sedatives and painkillers in
exchange for sex. Also in October 2000, a Grundy, Virginia, physician
was arrested and charged with 79 counts of illegally dispensing
prescription drugs, including OxyContin.
The abuse of OxyContin, as with the abuse of most
prescription drugs, creates a cycle of health care fraud. For example, a
corrupt physician writes a patient a prescription for a pain reliever
for a nonexistent injury. The physician bills the insurance company for
that, and subsequent, visits. The patient uses a portion of the
prescribed pills and sells the rest for a substantial profit. This type
of health care fraud is quite prominent in West Virginia, where the
Huntington Drug and Violent Crime Task Force reports "there are too
many doctors (in West Virginia) supplementing their income by writing
improper prescriptions."
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