Prescription drug fraud on the rise in Montana

Prescription drug fraud is on the rise in Northwest Montana. And as the sale of painkillers continues to skyrocket, law enforcement officials say they have just scratched the problem's surface.

"We believe the public really has no idea how large the problem is," said Northwest Drug Task Force Commander Geno Cook.

The task force investigated more than 80 cases of prescription fraud and illegal possession of prescription drugs between 2004 and 2006. Between March and June of this year, they have investigated 30 cases related to prescription fraud, said the Northwest Drug Task Force's prescription drug diversion agent, who asked not to be identified because of the undercover nature of his work.

Eleven of those cases went to the Flathead County Attorney's Office for prosecution. In addition, the task force is working 12 active prescription drug cases.

"We've confiscated over $6,000 worth of pills this year," the task force's diversion agent said.

The most common form of prescription fraud in Flathead County is "doctor shopping," where a person obtains prescriptions from a physician willing to prescribe drugs illegally or obtains the same prescription from a number of different physicians at the same time. Less common are forged prescriptions, Cook said.

Penalties for fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs include up to five years in prison for a first offense and as many as 10 years in prison for a second offense.

Part of the reason for the increase in prescription drug abuse is an explosive growth in painkiller sales in recent years.

Across the country, the percentage of people using five major painkillers jumped 88 percent between 1997 and 2005, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration data compiled by the Associated Press.

People collectively bought nearly 200,000 pounds of codeine, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodine and meperidine at retail stores during the most recent year represented in the government's data. That's enough medication to give 10 milligrams of painkillers to every man, woman and child in the nation every day for nearly a year.

"The more a drug is prescribed, the more that drug is abused," said Charlie Cichon, executive director of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. "That's pretty much across the country. That's what we're seeing."

In northwest Montana, including Kalispell, Whitefish, and Columbia Falls, sales of those five drugs increased more than 193 percent between 1997 and 2005, according to the Associated Press analysis.

And as more painkillers make their way onto the drug market, pills become easier to buy illicitly.

"The ease with which you can get these pills is incredible," Cook said.

When the Northwest Drug Task Force conducts undercover buy operations for cocaine or meth, investigators are finding dealers increasingly beginning to offer pills as well.

"They'll say, 'I've got pills, too. You want some pills?'" Cook said.

Another reason for an increase in the abuse of prescription painkillers is that meth is becoming harder to get in northwest Montana, leading more people to choose painkillers, Cook said.

In addition, painkillers have a valid legal use, unlike other illegal drugs.

"I don't deal with a lot of people who if you saw them on the street you would consider a criminal," said the Northwest Drug Task Force's diversion agent.

Many painkiller addicts start on the pills legally, then start buying them illicitly when their doctor cuts them off or they decide they need more to manage their pain, he said.

The task force's goal is twofold: to arrest the dealers and help addicts, Cook said.

The most abused prescription drug nationally is hydrocodone, Cicone said. It's a schedule III drug that only requires the doctor to call the prescription in to the pharmacy, making it easier to fraudulently obtain. Oxycodone is a schedule II drug, which requires a written prescription.

In Flathead County, oxycodone, sold under the names Percocet and Oxycontin, and hydrocodone, sold under the names Lortab and Vicodin, sell for between $5 and $70 a pill, depending on the dosage and type of pill, Cook said.

Prescription drug fraud has always been a problem, Cichon said. But when law enforcement agencies devote resources to prescription diversion programs, the full scope of the problem comes into focus, he said.

The breadth of prescription drug abuse is an unrecognized issue for many law enforcement agencies simply because they don't have the money and manpower to devote to diversion programs, Cook said.

"It's kind a sleeping giant we've woken up here," Cook said.

The Northwest Drug Task Force is the only such task force in Montana to have an officer dedicated full time to investigating prescription drug diversion, Cook said.

"We're barely even touching it," he said. "And the calls are still coming in."

The Northwest Drug Task Force made investigating prescription drug diversion a unique position in 2004 after noticing a steady rise in the number of their cases.

"I was amazed at the cross section of people involved in it. It crosses all classes of people, no exceptions," said Flathead County Sheriff's Lt. Bob Provo, who held the diversion agent position for the first 18 months after its creation. "You could stay busy full time working that, and we did."

But with the aid of pharmacists, law enforcement in Montana is becoming increasingly effective at combating prescription drug fraud.

"Pharmacists don't like being licensed dope dealers," said Provo, explaining why pharmacists help police.

"You can tell pretty fast if there's a problem," added Cook.

Education about prescription drug abuse and its effects are also part of the plan to reduce its prevalence.

"Enforcement and education are pretty equal as far as an effective effort in curbing illegal prescription drug use," said the task force's diversion agent.

The Northwest Drug Task Force is made up of law enforcement agencies in Flathead, Lake, and Mineral counties and the Flathead Indian Reservation.