Area task force goes after people illegally selling prescription drugs

In the two years since the formation of the Scott County-Mississippi County Prescription Drug Task Force, awareness of the prescription drug problem has grown in both communities, said Richard Logan, a Charleston, Mo., pharmacist and deputy commissioned with both counties.

Still, while the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators reports a national decline of the severity of the prescription drug abuse problem, Logan said local investigators and medical professionals haven't seen it.

The task force, funded by a grant from NADDI, averages about three prescription drug controlled buys per week in pursuing arrests, Scott County Detective Branden Caid said.

"We feel that in past years, the meth problem was so strong that prescription drugs took a back seat to meth investigations," Caid said.

After new laws took effect restricting the sale of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in manufacturing methamphetamine, the number of meth cases dropped in Missouri, and the prescription drug problem received more attention.

Now, new "shake and bake" meth manufacturing methods have caused a spike in meth labs, propelling the meth problem back into the national spotlight, Caid said.

"I think your average officer knows how to handle meth cases more than prescription drug cases," Scott County Sheriff Rick Walter said.

Unlike pseudoephedrine laws, there is no system of checks and balance to restrict someone from illegally selling prescription drugs, said Kevin Glaser, director of the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force.

"You've got five different doctors each giving you a prescription, and you go to a couple of different pharmacies, it's very hard to pick up from a law enforcement standpoint," Glaser said.

Glaser said his investigators most often see prescription drugs during the course of investigations targeting other types of controlled substances like methamphetamine and crack cocaine.

Glaser said prescription drug abuse has been a "growing and continuing problem" in the region, calling it "synthetic heroin."

Many people don't realize the penalties are the same for illegal possession or sale of prescription drugs and possession or sale of drugs such as cocaine or marijuana, Walter said. Logan referred to one case in which the suspect was buying small quantities of prescription drugs each month from an elderly person who had a legal prescription for the drug.

"He said, 'They didn't think anything of it, and I got my high,'" Logan said.

Logan acts as a liaison between Scott and Mississippi county law enforcement and assists officers in both jurisdictions with spotting potential prescription drug abusers or identifying specific prescription medication when some is seized during a search. Friday he will be speaking to a group of clergymen from Sikeston, Mo., about the prescription drug problem.

"We're getting the word out," Logan said.

Since the task force's inception, multiple meetings and training sessions have been made available to law enforcement and health care professionals in the region. The sheriff's department in Scott County is seeking a charter from NADDI that would give them access to people with years of expertise in the field and open up networking opportunities, Walter said.

Anyone interested in learning more can contact Logan at 573-683-3307 or the Scott County Sheriff's Department at 573-545-3525. To report instances of prescription drug abuse, call the anonymous tip line at 866-210-4322.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

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