Prescription Drugs Expanding into the Black Market
By: Import User
Updated: January 7, 2009
Police say recent drug busts have netted more than just the usual. Along with meth and marijuana, police find prescription drugs, like Xanax, Zyrtec and Viagra all taken illegally.
Police say criminals get the drugs by breaking into pharmacies or by passing phony prescriptions.
Dealers either use the drugs themselves or sell the pills on the street.
"Some of them can be very expensive, OxyContin-type pils go for $25, $30, or $50 on the market," said Sergeant Terry Hastings, Little Rock Police Department.
Police and pharmacists say drug abusers will get several doctors to write the same prescription or get it filled at several pharmacies to get more of it than prescribed.
The Food and Drug Administration is also working to secure the nation`s drug supply. It`s looking at tracking prescription drugs to catch criminals who make counterfeit ones. Experts say those pills do not contain the correct ingredients or amounts.
