Drug Addicts Filing False Theft Reports to Get Additional Painkiller Prescriptions

US health officials are growingly increasingly worried about abuse of prescription painkillers because some drug addicts are getting creative in the ways they seek out drugs.
Approximately 52 million people over the age of 12 have reported using prescription narcotics at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a federal government research institute dedicated to providing information to help alleviate drug abuse and addiction in the United States. In recent years, the problem has become so bad that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has called prescription drug abuse an “epidemic” in need of a solution.
Now there is a new trend that concerns federal officials: a rise in the number of people filing false police reports in order to acquire prescription drugs to feed their addictions. This strategy is being employed by people in areas throughout the country, including Florida, Montana, Minnesota, New York and New Jersey.
For example, a recent report out of Gainesville, Florida highlighted a number of false robbery and burglary reports being filed by drug addicts. The suspects allegedly claimed that they had been robbed of their prescription medication so that they could get police authorization to seek out a new prescription from their doctor. The Gainesville Police Department is now on the lookout for this sort of scheme, with a detective stating, “If somebody mentions pills in a robbery or burglary, we get nervous.”
The problem is not just limited to Gainesville, Florida, where law enforcement said there have been 41 recent incidents involving reports of stolen prescription painkillers. In Maine, a woman got charged with filing a false public alarm after police determined that she had lied about being robbed of her prescription medication. Additionally, a Montana woman was also charged with criminal offenses after allegedly falsifying a report that she had been raped and robbed of pharmaceutical drugs.
The strategies used by people seeking a quick fix for their drug addictions will probably get more and more creative, particularly as the government focuses additional resources on stopping the current strategies like filing false police reports.
For more information, read the Newsmax.com article, “Police: Emerging Trend of Filing False Reports to Get Pain Pills.”
 
If you or a loved one has been arrested for illegal possession of prescription drugs, heroin possession, simple possession of marijuana or any other drug offense in New Jersey, you need a qualified criminal defense attorney on your side. The experienced, knowledgeable criminal defense lawyers at Lombardi and Lombardi, P.A. can help you fight your drug crime charges and avoid the most severe penalties. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about your case.