What is Drug Diversion?
Drug
diversion is the illegal distribution, abuse, or unintended use of
prescription drugs. The
abuse of prescription drugs stems from their growing availability,
the false belief that they are always safe to use, and from the lack
of a social stigma associated with street level drugs such as
marijuana, cocaine, and Meth. Nationwide prescription drugs account
for the second most commonly abused category of drugs, second only
to marijuana, and for the first time there are now as many new
abusers of prescription drugs as there are for marijuana. Young
adults 18 to 25 have the highest annual rates of prescription drug
abuse, and every day 2500 American children age 12 to 17 abuse a
prescription pain reliever for the very first time.
According to the National Institute
on Drug Abuse, the nonmedical use of opioid painkillers has doubled
between 2005 and 2009, and an alarming 56% of patients who received
an opioid prescription in 2009 had filled another opioid
prescription within the previous 30 days.
In Tennessee, the nonmedical use and abuse of
prescription drugs is a serious and growing public health epidemic.
Tennessee consistently ranks as one of the top states in the country
for the use of prescribed medications. In 2009 Tennessee ranked #2
with 17.3 retail prescriptions written per person compared with a
national average of 12.0. Since 2008 the top three controlled
substances prescribed in Tennessee have been Hydrocodone, Alprazolam,
and Oxycodone. Those drugs along with Lorazepam, Zolpidem, Diazepam,
Morphine, Methadone, and Carisprodol account for the most commonly
abused prescription drugs in our state.
Examples
of illegal prescription drug diversion are varied. They include, but
are not limited to, the following:
- falsely presenting a forged or altered prescription to a pharmacy
- phoning in a fraudulent prescription
- using any manner of misrepresentation or deception, including
presenting false symptoms, in order to obtain prescription
medications
- seeing multiple health care providers within a short period of time
and obtaining multiple prescriptions for the same or similar
drugs ("doctor shopping")
- selling prescription medications for any reason
- selling prescription medications paid for by TennCare/Medicaid
benefits
- stealing prescription medications
- writing prescriptions for no legitimate medical purpose
- dispensing prescription medications for personal gain or in any
manner inconsistent with the dispenser’s professional occupation
or license
In Tennessee,
obtaining or attempting to obtain a controlled substance by
misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge is a
Class D felony. It is also a felony to distribute or dispense (which
includes prescribing) any controlled substance for any purpose other
than those authorized by and consistent with such person’s
professional or occupational licensure or registration law. Felonies
are punishable by not less than 2 years and not more than 12 years
in prison and fines up to $100,000.
In an emergency, call local law enforcement or 911.
