PILLS - GOLD TO THIEVES

Pharmacies May Be The Robbery Targets Banks Once Were

PROVO - Banks were the targets of robbers in the Old West, when shiny
pieces of gold and silver were sought by gun-slinging bandits.

Fast forward to 2002.

On the urban 21st century, the easy-money cash-grab from a bank teller is
becoming eclipsed by the lure of turning over a pharmacy for bottles of
drugs that can be sold on the street.

Utah law-enforcement leaders and pharmacists worry that criminals in Utah
are beginning to see pharmacies as easy targets for robberies.

One reason: Bank robberies are considered a federal offense and are
investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Pharmacy robberies are
not.

Federal sentences are mandatory. In state courts, where most pharmacy
robberies are prosecuted, probation is common.

Lt. Stan Eggen, who works with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force,
said some criminals are getting wise to this fact, as well as knowing that
most pharmacies lack the sophisticated surveillance systems most banks have.

FBI agent Jim Malpede said given an increase in money spent by banks to
thwart robberies, the actual loot from a bank heist is dropping. Malpede
said on average, nationwide, a bank thief is currently making off with
about $4,000.

In some parts of Utah that average is $2,000.

Compare that to prescription drugs such as Lortab and Percocet, which fetch
as much as $20 a tablet on the street.

At that price, a burglar needs only 100 tablets to pocket $2,000.

Since December, Provo police have reported 11 robberies.

Of those, four were pharmacies and one a care center.

Salt Lake police reported nine doctors' offices, dental clinics and drug
stores robbed so far this year, with a total of 21 such heists reported in
2001.

Of those, only six thieves made off with drugs.

But in other parts of the state, pharmacy robberies are almost nonexistent.
St. George police officer Craig Harding said criminals down south still try
to obtain prescription drugs via prescription fraud.

"We have a lot of calls from pharmacies for prescription fraud," Harding
said, but no robberies.

Weber County law enforcement also reported no pharmacy robberies in the
past year.

Law-enforcement agencies say attempts to obtain prescription drugs are
turning violent largely because of OxyContin. Known in parts of the South
as "hillbilly heroin," the narcotic painkiller is said to be as addictive
as heroin.

The opiate-based drug was created as a time-release medication for those
with chronic pain. But drug abusers found they can get all the medication
at once by crushing and then snorting the tablets.

Abuse of the drug has created a population of addicts who are desperate
enough to try anything and too impatient to forge prescriptions.

Barry Jamison, special agent in charge of Utah's Drug Enforcement Agency,
said pharmacy robbery-rings have not become an extensive problem in Utah - yet.

"Robberies of pharmacies have increased dramatically nationwide and one of
the main reasons was because of this OxyContin," he said. "They soon
realize how easy pharmacies are to hit."

Utah pharmacies, many of which are independently owned, still hold onto
that nostalgic feeling of a hometown pharmacy where kids go to buy candy
and ice cream sodas. Mike Berntsen owns such a place.

As the owner of Provo Pharmacy, Berntsen said he is very concerned about
such crimes. Already his business has been burglarized several times.
Recently a man walked in during daytime hours and violently demanded
OxyContin. The man was not armed and later was arrested.

Many pharmacists say they aren't able to protect themselves from violent
criminals. Members of the Utah Pharmaceutical Association say many Utah
pharmacies have moved to install surveillance cameras, motion detectors and
panic alarm systems - but at the cost of losing public trust.

"When I worked for Smith's there was a guy who was jumping through the
window into the pharmacy to rob them," said pharmacist and board member
Roger Fitzpatrick.

"Smith's put bars then on all the windows, and then what it gave you was
this caged-in feeling. And the public is now on the other side trying to
talk to you through these bars, and it didn't create the health care
atmosphere that we wanted."

Many pharmacists now place narcotic drugs in a safe. Others refuse to carry
OxyContin because of the potential danger to staff and other customers.

"A lot of pharmacies wouldn't even carry it. And if all of a sudden they
started carrying it - it's amazing how fast the word spreads that it's
there," said board member Ryan Lee.

Although the association admits there has been no formal discussion about
the trend, members did say a discussion with law enforcement and state
lawmakers would be welcomed.

On the national level, pharmacist groups are working with Purdue Pharma,
the maker of OxyContin, to help prevent such crimes. Some proposals include
reducing the milligram level of the tablets to reformulating the tablets to
render them ineffective if crushed.

Locally, Berntsen said, the problem will not stop until he pulls a gun from
behind the counter.

"What choice do I have? I mean, no one's going to help us."