Local authorities say hydrocodone, which Candice Jo Drye's family have said she was addicted to before she got arrested last week on a murder charge, is becoming more widely abused.
"This is the big thing coming up now," said Lt. Shelia Lingle, who works in the criminal investigation division of the Salisbury Police Department.
Salisbury Police have made five arrests on hydrocodone charges so far this year, Lingle said.
That compares to nine arrests from 2005-2007, she said.
Authorities cite several factors influencing the increase.
"These drugs, they're easier to get," Lingle said.
Hyrocodone, a painkiller, is the most frequently prescribed opiate in the United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Doctors wrote about 130 million prescriptions for hydrocodone-containing products in 2006, according to the DEA's Web site. The painkiller comes in the form of prescribed drugs like Vicodin, Lortab and Lorcet.
Lingle said that since the drug is prescribed by doctors, it's often more accessible than illegal drugs like crack or cocaine.
It's cheaper, too.
Drug users can buy a hydrocodone tablet on the street for a price between $3 and $5, said Capt. Kevin Auten of the Rowan County Sheriff's Office. Auten worked with the office's drug unit for 15 years before he took another position within the department a couple of years ago.
A crack rock costs about $20 on the street, Auten said. One gram of cocaine goes for anywhere from $40 to $60.
Auten said hydrocodone abuse has been on the rise in Rowan County for several years.
"The black market for pills ... it's so mobile anymore," he said.
But patients have found ways to get an excessive amount of pills from doctors.
"They might go to five different doctors" for painkillers, Auten said.
The doctors usually don't know the patient has already gotten prescriptions elsewhere, he said.
After seeing doctors, some people take their prescriptions to different pharmacies, Auten said.
Some local pharmacy owners say they keep track of who's getting hydrocodone-containing drugs. They also record which doctors are prescribing them.
Drye, 23, of Mocksville, was arrested last Thursday in connection with the murder of Dr. David Boyd earlier that day.
The Salisbury dentist was found bound and strangled in his bedroom at the home he shared with his wife and three children near the Country Club of Salisbury.
Drye's stepfather, Jerry Cruse, said Boyd had been prescribing hydrocodone for his stepdaughter.
Before he was killed, Boyd was the focus of a State Bureau of Investigation probe for reports that he was allegedly prescribing painkillers illegally.
When Charles Deadwyler, owner of Towne Pharmacy on Innes Street, heard reports about the murder, he checked his computer records to find out if Drye had gotten prescriptions filled at his business.
"She never got anything here," Deadwyler said.
He also said that his pharmacy has not filled a lot of orders prescribed by Boyd.
The same is true at Innes Street Drug Co., which has two stores in Salisbury, said its owner, Mike Fuller.
Fuller said dentists normally don't prescribe a lot of painkillers.
"That would raise a red flag for us," he said.
"They prescribe it in very limited quantities. ... Routinely, you should not have a lot of dental pain."
Most prescriptions for hydrocodone-containing drugs come from pain clinics and orthopedic surgeons, Fuller said.
A two- or three-day supply of such drugs prescribed by a dentist is "a gracious plenty," he said.
But that doesn't mean some patients don't want more. Salisbury Pharmacy reported to police in January that someone had stolen 10,000 hydrocodone pills, said Jon Post, who owns the store.
Post said his pharmacy has had other incidents, too. A couple of months ago, he said, someone tried to get forged prescriptions filled there.
And last week, someone snatched 90 hydrocodone pills from the counter as an employee was filling an order, Post said.
"We caught them on video," he said.
Post said his pharmacy had not filled prescriptions for Drye.
Pam
: Monday, July 28, 2008 12:35 PM
You people are very judgmental. First of all: ALL BODIES ARE DIFFERENT, therefore someone's brother having a knee surgery, or hip replaced has nothing at all to do with someone else's surgery. Body's all heal differently, and people respond to pain differently, and to medication differently for that matter. Just because your brother handled the pain and got off the meds doesn't mean it was that easy for someone else. If your brother is so great why didn't he do it without meds at all? If the meds are so God awful that is? Don't judge people for having a problem. I had 4 foot surgeries in a row, with a total of 28 weeks spent on crutches, only to turn around and find out I had breast cancer. All 5 surgeries were really painful (and I had 3 more surgeries not long after that, all for different reasons) and I had to be on meds for quite a while, so am I a bad person that I ended up addicted to pain killers? I would love to see you, or anyone else, go through what I went through and not use pain killers. And how can you stay on pills that long and not end up addicted? YOU CAN'T!! Your body builds a tolerance, and you have no choice but to up the dosage (even if you are really taking them for pain only). I was 16 when I started all of my surgeries and my Mom would give me my meds at the appropriate times and I still ended up addicted. Point of the story? DON'T JUDGE PEOPLE YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!!
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Martin Leach
ON LINE DRUG ADDS : Wednesday, July 09, 2008 5:48 AM
Whats with these narcotic drug adds that pop up on the screen along with this? Is this legal?
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Love my vet, hate the VA
Addiction to painkillers : Tuesday, July 08, 2008 7:33 AM
One of the biggest suppliers of painkillers is the VA. They have so many vets coming in and out that had a perscription for painkillers at one time and they just keep on filling them. And they perscribe enough pills that should last months. That is not the case when you are addicted to something.
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Mr. Tracy W.
Drug Problem : Monday, July 07, 2008 6:18 PM
The other day I read that a methamphetamine lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and I asked myself a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem when I was growing up?'' I replied to myself: "I did have a drug problem when I was young": I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the weather. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in everything that was asked of me. I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if I uttered a profane four-letter word. I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields. I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the woodshed. Those drugs are still in my veins; and they affect my behavior in everything I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, prescription meds or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem, Rowan County would be a better place.
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Re: Addiction : Thursday, July 03, 2008 7:06 AM
I have never bought medication from anyone, not at the plant,not on the street. I was just saying that narcotics (and illegal drugs) are sold in the plant, and in the parking lot. I worked at Phillip Morris before coming to freighliner, and the same thing went on at PM. Anyway, I have a valid Rx for Hydrcodone, and I will take it when I want to.
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TO ADDICTION : Thursday, July 03, 2008 6:42 AM
Boy, you are something else. First you say you are not doing anything illegial to get Hydro, you really need to look in the mirror buddy!!!LOL Now your saying you can buy your drug of choice in the plant, no wonder Freightliner has so many lay offs. The plant is a drug store. Maybe you will be one of the next ones laid off especially when your boss reads this. I hope on one of those days you are taken your funny pill that you don't have a wreck and whoops, we gonna find drugs in your system. Also, you need to read your own story because you are also saying that you can get a pill for so much money in the plant, well someone is dealing in drugs. That in itself is ILLEGIAL. Also,, when your insurance company finds out that you are getting Hydro and have been for 1 year for your jollies at there expense (sure you pay your $10 copay), but this is why our prescriptions are so high. I hope you find happiness in something other than your weekly high.
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A Biologist's View : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:24 PM
Just so people know, there is a scientific study that came out, that states, until you reach age 25 (Candice was age 23 and the other two guys were 21 yrs of age or younger), a normal person's brain is not fully developed. So basically that means although you may know right from wrong, there are chemical processes going on in your head that make it so you really don't know why you may have done, whatever was done. So when your child does something stupid and you ask them why, and they say mom, dad, I honestly don't know why I did that. This is not an excuse for what happen to the Dr., but people need to understand that this situation is not all about bibles, drugs, and sex. Brain chemistry could have been a factor.
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Just this week : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 7:24 PM
I have a neighbor with a 16 year old son, this week broke his ankle, a trip to the ER and he has Hydrocodone, only thing his mom bought him Tylenol, and used the prescription herself, 2 days later, she called to get refill, only to be told the kid needed a followup with family doctor before gettig it. So the mom takes the kid to another ER and had the same complaint. Got another prescription, and now she is looking to Iredell County to do the same. Why aren't these hospitals linked in some way to stop this?
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Another pharm tech
No suprise : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 3:03 PM
The problem isnt just Hyrdocodne, but other controlled substances as well. These include drugs such as Valium (diazepam), Xanax (alprazolam), Ambien, Lyrica, temazepam, Darvocet, etc. I really hate to say this, but part of the problem (as alluded to earlier) is doctors overperscribing this stuff. There are plenty of offices in Rowan County that will perscribe hydrocodone medications (Lortab, Lorcet, Vicodin, Vicoprofen, Norco, among others) at the drop of a hat. Some of us who work in the pharmacy have even joked that these doctors must have a "buy one perscription of any kind, get a 'controlled' script for free!" special going on to attract new patients. Gallows humor at its finest. In all fairness, some doctors in Rowan County do their best to maintain a little control over the situation - an earlier poster mentioned the ER. They actually have a rule that states that if a controlled script (hydrocodone or similar) is involved, the patient must get all or none filled. Many times I've been cussed out by a patient who had their script canceled by the ER doctor because they only wanted the Lortab, and not the antibiotics that went with it. I've seen other doctors tell their patients to leave and not come back to their office because they were "doctor shopping" or better still - pharmacy shopping. Everyone has thier breaking point, however. The article did a pretty good job talking about how people try to get extra pain meds, but they left out a favorite tactic - the "lost perscription" early refill. One patient in my pharmacy used to have her perscriptions stolen about once every 3 months it seemed, and always needed her meds filled early. By law, the pharmacy refused, because only the doctor can authorize an early refill on controlled substances. Her doctor refused until she apparently bugged him enough that he authorized it "just to get her to shut up." Any person who works or has worked in a pharmacy could tell you stories about the people who have come in and thrown their own little temper-tantrums, threats, insults, stupid looks, etc. As for the ADHD comment, there truly are a large number of children in Rowan County who legitimatley need to be on ADHD medication. But if you look at the statistics, our area sure has a significantly higher number of perscriptions for it than other areas. So yes, many ADHD meds are indeed overperscribed in this area. Your child might legitimatley need them, and more power to you. But for your one child there's three parents who thinks that the TV, school, and a little white pill should do their job for them.
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Callie
Sad Life : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 2:24 PM
I remember a lady I worked with in the 70's. she was addicted to pain killers, and would go to different states to the ER to get pain meds. She gave false names,no one ever asked for ID and stuff like that. I know things have changed since the 70's, it's probably not so simple now to just make up names.
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Re: Addiction : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 2:21 PM
I forgot to mention this: I am not on medicaid. I work at Freightliner and have wonderful insurance. Only $10 for a Rx. Speaking of Freightliner....you can buy your drug of choice in the plant. Hydro is popular in the plant, people will pay $3-$10 for one pill.
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to "a message to you" : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 1:27 PM
Your child may have ADHD, but their are those parents that put their kids on the meds to keep from dealing with them. Don't blame it on the schools for suggesting it, they shouldn't have to deal with it either! They are educators, not glorified babysitters. Until 10-15 years ago you didn't hear about ADHD (but before these drugs came out you were able to punish your children). After reading both your posts...I shudder to think that you are homeschooling your child. You also need to go back to school and learn how to write and spell. Good luck to your child! As for Ortho Surgeons (most) do not prescribe pain medication for more than a few weeks and you are lucky to get that. Simply because they want you back on your feet again. I know, I had total left hip replacement and 2 inches removed from the same leg Feb. a year ago and only a few days of pain meds after going home 3 days later. Three weeks after the surgery I was back to doing what I wanted. I had three visits from PT (I stopped PT on my own because I was doing so well). I went through Ortho Carolina in Charlotte and had an excellent surgeon! He didn't mess around and I didn't want him to. I was one of the youngest people he had done this on (I am in my 30's) and he even amazed himself with the job he had done. I have had doctors want to prescribe hydrocodone and it didn't have anything to do with what I went to see them for. When I told them no I wasn't looking back at a happy face but they kept trying to prescribe other pain meds. This is where your own judgement comes in, it's your body, you decide what goes in it. It's not hard to tell a doctor that you don't want the RX! They are not "all knowing Gods" and certainly don't always get things right!
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Carol
I have an ADHD child, too : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 1:19 PM
Ok, we’ve now gone from reading about hydrocodone abuse to “parents stealing their children's childhood away from them, all because they do not want to deal with their children's behavior”. I acknowledge everyone has their right to opinion and since someone brought the subject to the table I have something to say. Fact: ADHD involves an imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain. -The exact cause of (ADHD) is not known and this condition does run in families. Ongoing research is focused on identifying genes that cause a person to be susceptible to ADHD. Using various imaging tests, researchers have been able to observe the brain at work. They have found a possible link between ADHD and Brain structure, the function of chemicals in the brain that help regulate attention and activity (dopamine and norepinephrine), and differences in function of some of the areas of the brain that affect attention and impulse control. -(source http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-overview). I am a parent with an ADHD child. I have it, as did my father. ADHD in some can be controlled with meds & some cannot. My husband and I chose to give our child his childhood by putting him on medication. As a result of medicine his brain waves function normally, which allows him to accomplish tasks he knows he can do. Can you even imagine looking at a problem or situation knowing you can do it, but you just can’t wrap your thoughts around it? What a feeling of failure & frustration that is. My child does not walk around in a “fog” and has a wonderful life. He has an extremely high IQ, participates in sports ranging from basketball, to karate, to football, is preparing for his lifeguard certification, and is active in JROTC at school. I applaud any parent with an ADHD child in any decision they make to help their children. Thank you.
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pharmacists must be alert : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:44 AM
Pharmacists must keep an eye on these drug seekers and alert all of the physicians in the patient's profile to these habits. If the physician doesn't seem to care ( like some around) then we need to alert the medical board.
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A PHAR TECH VIEW - MESSAGE TO YOU! : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:02 AM
First of all let me tell you something... My son has ADHD and know we don't medicate him by our choice. Because of our desicion we had to pull our son out of school. ADHD is a medical condition and isn't cured by just a parent punishing the child. You should know if you study medicine. If you child had asthma you wouldn't blame the parents. The people hear to blame is the schools and teachers. If parents don't want to deal with a ADHD child they start screaming medication. If you don't medicate you end up where we are.. homeschooling. Thank god we could do this but some parents can't and these parents aren't bad just because they medicate their child for a medical condition. You really need to go back to school before handing out medical advice.
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Addiction : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:59 AM
Sorry about the spelling, but it is what it is Addiction. If you don't have pain nor do you need it and still take it that is addiction. And no, I enjoy my life too much to fog my mind with unreal feelings. It is your choice, but you say you are not getting it from the Ortho Surgeon, but some doctor has to be prescribing it. So you just tell the doctor that you want to take it 1 day a week to get that feeling. A doctors job is to make a person feel better. I have a great doctor and he does not give you anything unless you need it. If you ask for something he wants to know why I feel I need it.
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Re: My Addition : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:01 AM
It's 'addiction', not addition. I dont take it to control pain, because I dont have any pain. And, I dont get the RX from the Ortho surgeon. I only take ONE hydro every now and then, maybe one day a week. You should try it... You would love it!!
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I Take this Medication & Data Base Is Good Idea : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 9:40 AM
All people who take this medicine are not addicted! That is just like saying anyone who drinks is an alcoholic! I have to take this medication for about 5 days out of each month, and it still does not control my pain. Don't tell me that the surgeons didn't do their surgery right because I have had 3 operations for this chronic condition. When I take the medicine I do not feel high, I am not mean, or happy, I just want to control the pain. I get plenty of pills at one time, but do not abuse them. They stay in the cabinet until the next month. Stop judging everyone who may take this medication...just because someone had surgery and was off of the meds within a certain time frame, does not mean that every persons body will be the same. I agree that meds need to be monitored. I would have NO problem at all having my dr's office checking a data base. In closing, I feel for the family of this man, but I do agree that a man in his position was abusing his power...I have worked in the dental field for over 15 years and know the proper procedures in prescribing these meds. I can't figure out what he was thinking. It will be interesting to see his tox screen results.
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A Pharm Tech's View : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 9:03 AM
I must agree that addiction to narcotics and other controlled substances is on the rise! I work in a pharmacy, and see hundreds of people who take Lortab and Oxycodone and other similar drugs. Some people do have health problems that need these prescriptions, but many do not! It's sad to see. And, while we're talking about this subject, it is sad to see the amount of ADHD prescriptions written! Parents are stealing their children's childhood away from them, all because they do not want to deal with their children's behavior; maybe we should learn to teach our children to behave! These meds are putting our children's minds into a drug-induced "fog." Therefore, I agree that too many people are becoming addicted to controlled substances.
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TO MY ADDITION : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 8:09 AM
You made the comment that you love your Hydro, and you had been on it since your knee replacement, well this has been over a year and your still on it. You stated you like the way it made you feel (a sense of happiness, etc.). It is ashame a person can't get a good high on living his life right or knowing you have done a good days work or even done a good deed for someone, but to have to have a pill to make you feel that way is disgraceful. Also, your orthopedic surgeon did not do his job, 2 things you should not still be on pain meds and he should not be still giving you the drugs AFTER A YEAR. See here is a perfect example of doctor not monitoring the drug you are getting. Maybe you think you are not doing anything illegal to get the drug but think about it, you know yourself you should not have to rely on the drug if your operation was successful. My brother had a total knee replacement and after 3 months he was off the drug and in rehab for his recovery not depending on a drug for a quick high or good sense of happiness. I would be happy knowing I had a good operation and not having to take poison into my body everyday. My other brother had a Hip replacement at Baptist and he was off the meds in 4 weeks and walking perfect. Gee the difference between doctors. Come on I hope your doctor reads this and can figure out that you don't need the drugs except for your cheap high because you are ABUSING THE DRUG. If you would quit taken the drug and realize you could be happy without taking the drug and be happy that now you can walk without pain that should be happy enough. Also, if you have insurance and are abusing the drug for your own selfish reasons that is why our insurance costs are so high. But if you are on medicaid, medicare you are taken from others and that in itself is ILLEGAL.
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LETS CRACK DOWN ON THESE DRUGS : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:54 AM
After reading all that has been said about Hydrocodone drugs, it still comes back to lets start a data base so when a prescription is written for a patient the doctor has to put it into a data base and then this helps to build the data base on this person. I know the doctors are busy, bnut if they are REAL doctors that take their oaths to heart then they would not mind taken that extra few minutes or have their assistant do it before they check the patient out. Yes, the patient would need to understand why they may be waiting a few extra minutes. Maybe the druggie that is waiting might not wait if he knew he was being checked in a data base. There has to be something that we can do. To me a cancer patient should be the only one taken these harsh drugs for long periods of time. A trip to the dentist, Orthopedic surgeon, etc. a person should not need but a few pills. That is if the sugery is done right and that goes back to good doctors doing quality work. Come on doctors, help us out. Most druggies go out of their own town to get these prescriptions filled. I used to work for a call center that took calls from pharmacy when the patients prescription would not fill and the city they were trying to get them filled in was 20-30 miles from their address town. Some insurance companies allow 1 prescription override a year for vacation, lost or stolen meds. a year and boy these patients abused this option. Also, there were times when they would call and you could hear the patient or patients family in the background cussing the pharmacist or me on over the phone because of not being able to get the meds. These people are ridicolous. If you look at most crimes there is drugs or alcohol involved. Normally you have an invidual that is just a wonderful person to be around, but let them get on these two items and you have a totally different person. Wow! these drugs alter their personalities so much they are a different person. They are mean, vendictive, and distructive, but you let them come down from their high and they are like what is wrong with you, why are you so distant? and your thinking my gosh, what a difference.
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easy to obtain : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:38 AM
All you have to do is visit the emergency room for anything and you will walk out of there with a precription for hydrocodone. You don't even need insurance. I have went with my ex-husband hoping to intervene with him and the doctor but even with me informing the doctor that he was an addict and abused precription narcotics he still wrote the prescription. I now have guardianship of his 3 boys because of his addiction. Doctors are half the reason drugs are worse in Rowan County. If they only realized the pain and suffering it causes there families.
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My Addiction : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 6:00 AM
I love my Hydro. It gives a feeling of euphoria. I started taking it when I had knee replacement last year. I can say that I have never done anything illegal to get it.
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drugs : Wednesday, July 02, 2008 5:55 AM
Just because he was a dentist and "only" wrote the prescriptions, the dentist was bottom line, a drug supplier, he was as much of a dealer as these people who were arrested. His picture just looks better then theirs, he is no better then them, actually worse.
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Police identify 20-year-old man killed in shooting with officers
