The Poeples Defender
Matt Hilderbrand Staff Writer

Editor's Note: This is the second 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.

It's a problem that has quickly grown into a serious epidemic within Adams County: prescription drug abuse. And while Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers and his office, with the aid of area doctors and hospitals, have worked around the clock to help spread awareness, very little change has yet been seen as more and more cases of prescription drug abusers are reported every day.

"People from all walks of life are abusing these drugs," said Sheriff Rogers. "You do not have to be poor to be a drug addict. So far, we've had 16 accidental deaths in our county as a result of prescription drug abuse. These are not suicidal deaths. More and more people are abusing these drugs - swallowing them, snorting them, injecting themselves - and it has become a very serious situation."

But people don't just start out injecting themselves with Oxycontin. According to Rogers, it's a slow process that builds up over years of use.

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