PILLS A HEADACHE FOR LOCAL RCMP

Fairview RCMP will be stepping up drug enforcement this spring to
counteract a recent increase in the abuse of pharmaceutical narcotics
and other drugs.

"We definitely have an OxyContin problem in the community. We're
getting more and more complaints with people coming (into the
detachment) to report their OxyContin stolen," said Sgt. Bruce
Bracken. "Living in a small town, we may not realize there is a
problem with it, but for a while we were getting a complaint a week,"
he told Fairview town council last week.

OxyContin is a highly addictive opioide, like morphine and codeine,
and like its addictive cousins is often prescribed for pain relief. It
is called 'hillbilly heroin' by some and is also known as killers, OC,
oxy or cotton "on the street."

Addicts often start out as legitimate pain sufferers, but become
tolerant to its effects and start taking more than is prescribed by
their doctor. Some also begin trafficking in it, as is the current
case in Fairview. "A lot of times they don't surface with police until
their addictions are totally out of control," said Bracken.

Local addicts have resorted to reporting their pills stolen to RCMP,
and if they make it through what has now become rigourous screening,
which includes a polygraph test, they are given a case file number
they can then bring to their doctor and pharmacist to get a refill.
Many of the addicts known to local RCMP have tried the scam in recent
months.

There is also the matter of the spin-off crime that comes as a result
of their addictions, said Bracken. With a slowdown in the economy and
less money to spend on drugs, some are resorting to crime to feed
their addictions.

"We're getting a fair amount of crime as a result of the Oxycontin
addiction and the cocaine addiction," he said. Some addicts have even
started injecting their drug of choice, which puts them at high risk
of overdose and contracting diseases associated with sharing needles.

"When you get to the injection stage with any kind of drug, it's a
serious problem," said Bracken.