PRESCRIPTION MONITORING PROGRAM MAY BE THE CURE

The illegal sale of prescription drugs remains a concern for law
enforcement officials in the Fredericton area.

Staff Sgt. Gary Hadley, who heads up the drugs/organized crime unit
at RCMP J Division, said the problem seems to be centred on the
southern part of the province - in the Fredericton, Moncton and
Charlotte County areas.

"It seems the trend is towards this area and this is where you will
find the most," Hadley said.

Painkillers such as Dilaudid and OxyContin, once used only for
terminally ill patients but now routinely prescribed for a multitude
of pain symptoms, seem to be the most popular, Hadley said.

Earlier this month, members of the Codiac RCMP's drug section and
street crime unit executed a search warrant under the Controlled
Drugs and Substances Act at a location on Williams Street in Moncton.
A man in his 30s was arrested and is facing of possessing
prescription pills (OxyContin) for the purpose of trafficking.

"I think we've made some progress," Hadley said. "But it's still out
there. There's no doubt about it."

Hadley said the fact prescription drugs are legal and can obtained by
people with

Williams Street in Moncton. A man in his 30s was arrested and is
facing charges of possessing prescription pills (OxyContin) for the
purpose of trafficking.

"I think we've made some progress," Hadley said. "But it's still out
there. There's no doubt about it."

Hadley said the fact prescription drugs are legal and can obtained by
people with legitimate reasons makes battling the problem difficult.

Getting hooked on these drugs causes all sorts of problems for the
community, Hadley said.

These issues come to light through criminal activity as those hooked
try to find the money to continue to feed their habit.

Experts say drugs such as Dilaudid and OxyContin, while extremely
effective when used for treating pain, are highly addictive - several
times more so than heroin.

"Police, enforcement-wise, have made quite an impact on the
street-level trafficking, and not only street-level but at the other
levels, too," Hadley said.

"These drugs were being exported from Canada. There have been
operations the last few years where we've targeted traffickers and
higher-end traffickers and have had great success."

Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, are anxious to see the arrival
of the prescription monitoring program, a multimillion-dollar
drug-tracking system expected to be ready this year.

Once operational, it will link pharmacies in an electronic database
to prevent what's referred to as "double doctoring," where patients
obtain multiple prescriptions for controlled pain narcotics.

It will allow the government and pharmacists to track all
prescriptions of the highly addictive drugs.

"This will certainly be something that's beneficial to try and
eradicate the problem," Hadley said.

"People go from one doctor to another and, if you don't have that
information base to cross-reference, it's hard for the public health
system to keep track of what's going on."

MacKnight said the department has been working closely with the
Department of Health and is encouraged by the system's capabilities.