PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE PROBLEM GROWING IN MOORE

Marijuana may still be king, but prescription drugs are gaining ground
as the most abused illegal drug in Moore County, acccording to
Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Kip Dennis.

That was the message Dennis delivered Saturday during a community
forum sponsored by Drug-Free Moore County to kick off Red Ribbon Week.
It was held at Sandhills Community College's Dempsey Student Center
and Van Dusen Hall. Dennis, a drug officer for the Moore County
Sheriff's Office, said prescription medication abuse has overtaken
cocaine as the second-most abused drug in the county. Dennis talked in
detail about drugs, drug abuse and the county's effort to combat
illegal drugs.

"Our pill problem is out the roof," Dennis said. In 2005, theSheriff's
Office seized 1,312 illegal pills. The following year, that number
spiked to 10,102, which doesn't include nearly 3,500 pills that were
stolen from an area pharmacy.

Reported prescription medicine cases have increased from 15 in 2005 to
112 in 2006. So far this year, the department has handled 78 pill
cases. Dennis said several factors are behind the dramatic increase in
prescription medication abuse, most notably pain pills.

First is the over-treatment of pain. Dennis said doctors across the
United States freely prescribe pain medication for fear of being sued
by a patient. Second is the availability. Pain pills and prescription
drugs can be easily obtained from most households. Third, pill abuse
- -- like marijuana -- is becoming more socially acceptable.

"A lot of people are on this stuff, and you just can't quit," Dennis
said, "There is not an easy answer for it."

Dennis said pill abuse has led to an increase in deaths. Dennis said
prescription pills kill quicker than most drugs because the body
builds a tolerance to the medication and taking more pills than
prescribed to get the desired reaction, or mixing them with other
drugs such as alcohol, can be lethal. "Nobody wants to think that
something you can go to the pharmacy to get can kill you," Dennis said.

Another measure taken by the state is a new law that links pharmacy
computers so that pharmacists can report possible illegal behavior,
such as doctor shopping. Doctor shopping is a way patients can obtain
unneeded pain medicine by obtaining prescriptions from different
doctors and then filling those prescriptions at different pharmacies
to avoid detection. The new law -- which, according to Dennis, does
not have a set date for implementation -- is similar to one pioneered
in Kentucky. 'Not Simple Solution' Throughout the presentation, Dennis
answered questions and detailed on-the-job experiences from his nearly
seven years with the Sheriff's department.

He said the biggest problem law-enforcement agencies face is getting
residents to tell the police what is going on in their communities.
"Snitch," he said, has such a negative connotation in the community.
One audience member, Veola McLean of Southern Pines, said some
residents in her neighborhood live in fear of drug dealers.

"You can no longer sit on your front porch," McLean said. "Everywhere
I look, there are drug dealers -- drug dealers to the left of me, drug
dealers to the right, drug dealers in front on my house and drug
dealers behind my house." Dennis said, "There is not a simple solution."

McLean praised Southern Pines police and county sheriff's deputies for
their work to clean up the drug problem areas.

Dennis provided members of the audience with brochures. He had a
display case of drugs and drug paraphernalia officers have confiscated
while on duty, including drug pipes, which can be as intricate as a
hand-carved wooden instrument to a soda can with holes in it.

"If you can cut a hole in it and put a stem and a mesh filter on it,
you can make a pipe," Dennis said.

Justice System Overloaded Moore County District Attorney Maureen
Krueger followed Dennis with a presentation on sentencing and
punishments for drug offenders. She reiterated that every drug found
on the streets is "available at the schools -- middle school on up."

Krueger said that 51 percent of all felonies in Moore County are
drug-related charges, and she estimates that drugs are the underlying
motivation for another 48 percent.

"Ninety-nine percent of all my felonies are related to drugs," Krueger
said. Krueger detailed the possible punishments for various
misdemeanors and felonies. She said that jail overcrowding and a lack
of court time and space have limited the jail time convicted drug
felons serve and hampered the number of cases that can be tried.

"I can't put my cases on the calendar because we don't have space for
them," Krueger said.

One strategy, she said, is seeking habitual felon status, which can
result in a stiffer sentence provided the defendant is charged and
convicted of three non-overlapping felonies.

Other strategies used to make life hard on drug offenders include
seizing property and taxing assets gained in the sale of drugs. "You
have to pay taxes if you sell drugs," Krueger said. Krueger said the
N.C. Department of Revenue requires all drug dealers to obtain a drug
stamp. She said few of the stamps have been sold, but that the state
and local law-enforcement agencies have other ways to estimate the
amount of money made from the sale of drugs. Once that is determined,
the income can be taxed.

"Nobody in Moore County is getting real rich off selling drugs,"
Krueger said. Other topics during the forum included: Parent to
Parent, a session on developing trust with children to talk about
drugs and alcohol; Careers in Prevention and the Treatment of Drug
Problems; Tobacco -- It's more than a bad habit; Seniors and
Prescription Drugs; Healthy Aging and Age-Appropriate Exercise;
Families Today; How to Access Mental Health -- Addictions Treatment in
Moore County.