Pubdate: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 Source: Sun Herald (MS) Copyright: 2003, The Sun Herald Contact: http://www.sunherald.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/432 Author: Bernice Tewell MANY DRUG LOOPHOLES INVITE THEFT AND FRAUD Mail and Internet-ordered prescription drugs in three-month quantities are left on doorsteps daily, even if the recipients are not home, leaving the drugs vulnerable to theft. The customer is afraid to complain or report a theft. The doctor or the police may think the drugs were received and the patient is trying to get more. The police are blamed for "doing nothing." Doctors are blamed for practicing medicine. My career was in housing management. There were occasions when tenants were caught selling prescription drugs that had been paid for by Medicaid. This goes on frequently. Doctors are lied to. How can they know? All doctors who have patients with severe chronic pain should refer them to a pain clinic. People leave drugs on counters and in bathroom cabinets. When drugs come up short or missing, they do not know who took them. Prescription pain drugs from any pharmacy should be counted before the customer leaves the counter. A couple of pills short on each prescription can be a source of revenue. This is not a matter of accusing anyone; it is a matter of closing drug loopholes. My assortment of drugs contains four different drugs capable of causing death - heart and blood-pressure meds, muscle relaxers prescribed for muscle spasms, anti-depressants. People who are hunting a high will steal and swallow any drug that is handy. We need to halt the ways drugs are getting on the streets. With Caller I.D. and tracking of cell phone calls, few people want to risk turning in drug dealers. Some fear revenge; others do not want to be dragged into the mess. If there was a means of calling in on a pay phone or placing information in a secure drop box separate from the police station, the net would close in on the dealers. Bernice Tewell Pass Christian - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin