Prescription for disaster
Prescription drug abuse becoming epidemic

Carleta Weyrich Reporter

Editor's Note: This is the first of a series that will try to explore in-depth this growing problem. In future editions, The People's Defender will be taking a closer look at the abuse of prescription drugs locally - the families and the victims, its toll on our community and what's being done to stop it.

Sixteen deaths in one county since January. Sixteen people mourned by family and friends. One couple, found dead in their home, leave behind four children. Most of the deceased were in their 40s. Why?

"If there were that many traffic fatalities, the highway patrol would be all over it," said an alarmed Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers. "I feel confident there have been 16 deaths from prescription drugs since January. There's no death certificate to support it. If there's no suspicion of foul play, there's no autopsy - it's too expensive. We do have a lot of toxicologies. And the evidence is there: baskets full of medications. It's typical to find a plate, a pill crusher, a straw, a credit card and, in a lot of places, hypodermic needles."

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