The Norman Police Department has joined the effort to stop the prescription drug abuse epidemic in its tracks.
According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prescription drug-related deaths have more than tripled in the United States since 1999. The report says that Oklahoma leads statistics with the highest number of people -- 1 in 12 -- using painkillers recreationally.
It's these numbers that motivated Norman police to develop an innovative program that focuses on the root of the epidemic -- doctor offices and pharmacies -- instead of the drug dealers and abusers, said Capt. Darry Stacy, head of Norman's narcotics division.
"Most of them aren't going to the pharmacies, to the doctors, doing these proactive, educational things -- addressing and going after the sources," said Stacy, in reference to other law enforcement programs. "A lot of these other agencies are doing the same enforcement we're doing -- undercover buys, arresting the users and the end users -- but we're really trying to go after and be proactive and educate where these drugs are coming from."
Because illegal prescription drug abuse is relatively new, Stacy said Norman's department has been contacted by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs looking to make Norman a model program.
What makes Norman's department stand out, Stacy said, is it's fortunate enough to have a full-time detective committed to illegal prescription drug cases, or what the department calls diversion.
Instead of focusing all his energy on street crimes, Det. Jeff Puckett, the full-time detective assigned to diversion, said he spends the bulk of his time educating doctors and pharmacists on what they can and should do to combat prescription drug abuse.
Puckett said the majority of doctors and pharmacists receive very little formal education on diversion.
As a result, he said, many doctors are either ignorantly or knowingly taken advantage of by individuals posing as patients with various illnesses.
"They get no training," he said. "He spends his time on how to be a better doctor, how to provide better patient care. The dopers spend their time (on) how to get one over on the doctor.
The solution is simple, Puckett said. Doctors and pharmacists can use Oklahoma's Prescription Monitoring Program to check if a patient is attempting to committ prescription fraud.
Puckett said many of the medical professionals he talks to say they were unaware of the program.
The program's goal is to "reduce prescription fraud, substance abuse, 'doctor shopping' and other illegal activity related to pharmaceutical drug diversion," according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control website.
Puckett said the program is free of cost to law enforcement, medical professionals and pharmacies.
If doctors' offices and pharmacists would run patient's names or prescriptions against the program, he said, they would instantly be able to detect fraud.
"The forgeries and things, we can deal with that -- that's a criminal element, we can deal with that," said Puckett, in reference to the police department's responsbilities, "But the guy that goes to 85 doctors? There's no excuse for that. There's absolutely no excuse for that."
Stacy said Puckett's efforts in educating medical professionals in the Norman area has changed the way many do business.
"Through education, through partnership with the DEA, saying this is what you're supposed to be doing, let's all get together and do it the right way -- I think (Puckett has) seen a big change in the way a lot of places run their business because of that," Stacy said.
Because the prescription drug epidemic "touches everybody and crosses all classes," Stacy said, Puckett also spends time educating the public.
Puckett said he speaks at schools and a variety of civic groups to help educate students, parents and others on the dangers of diversion.
The biggest misconception Puckett said he encounters is individuals thinking that prescription drugs are less dangerous than hard drugs such as heroin or cocaine.
In reality, he said, narcotic and opioid prescription drugs can be more powerful and addictive.
"And their feeling is this: It's a legal drug, it's medicine, how could it hurt me? They don't understand that they can get so addicted so fast," Puckett said.
The first line of supply isn't from a drug dealer off the street, Puckett said, it's from friends' and family's medicine cabinets.
Puckett said it is important to be aware of prescribed medications to ensure that they don't end up in the wrong hands.
If pills are expired or no longer being used, Puckett said, they should be disposed of properly right away.
Allowing anyone not listed on the prescription to use the pills is illegal, Puckett said.
Stacy said individuals can dispose of prescriptions at the drug disposal container provided by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs in the Norman Police Department's lobby.
Stacy said diversion is a serious problem that is taking a toll on communities.
"For whatever reason," he said, "for years, this has been the silent killer we have all ignored, and we have to look at it and give it at least as much attention as the others because of the number of people that it's killing."
Copyright 2011 - The Norman Transcript, Okla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
