THE DRUGS THAT HIDE

Prescription Drug Abusers Not Easy To Tag

PASCAGOULA - Joe Chen, a physician, listens to proposals about tackling
drug problems during a community forum at Pascagoula's La Font Inn Wednesday.

Prescription drug abuse is a widespread, yet largely hidden problem, a
panel of health care and law enforcement workers said Wednesday at a forum
organized by the Jackson County Children's Services Coalition.

All age groups are abusing prescription drugs, including teen-agers and the
elderly, said Joe Chen, a physician with SunCoast Pain Management.

An estimated 9 million people ages 12 and older used prescription drugs for
nonmedical reasons in 1999, according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse
report.

Closer to home, 31 percent of the Homes of Grace Christian recovery
program's participants are admitted for prescription drug addiction, and 75
percent have abused prescription drugs in the past, said community
relations manager Todd Trenchard.

People abuse a wide range of prescription drugs, including pain relievers
such as OxyContin and Vicodin, depressants such as Valium and Xanax and
stimulants such as Ritalin and Dexedrine.

But determining who legitimately needs prescription drugs for chronic pain,
anxiety or other health problems and who is abusing or selling the drugs
can be very difficult.

With the majority of addicts, said Chen, there is no red flag indicating
that they are abusing prescription drugs.

"It's not like alcohol and traditional drugs," Chen said. "There's not the
telltale signs."

Teens usually start out abusing their parents' prescription drugs. If they
become addicted, they may obtain their drugs by going to a number of
different doctors.

The practice is called "doctor shopping," and it is difficult to prevent,
said Joy Rayborn of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.

Forging a prescription is a felony, but going to different doctors is not.
And doctor-patient confidentiality prevents doctors from calling police if
they suspect a patient is fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs, Chen said.

Jay Henley, a pharmacist with Burnham's drugstore, said he shares
information with other pharmacists in the area about people whom he
suspects may be doctor shopping.

What is needed to prevent doctor shopping, said several panelists, is to
create a nationwide database to keep track of patient histories.

"You'd like to know how many pharmacies someone's been to," Henley said.