Pharmcy Robberies: An Unexpected Side-effect of OxyCotin

A recent but unfortunate trend of pharmacy robberies has been taking hold nationwide. The assailants are holding up pharmacies in order to access popular drugs such as OxyCotin, which are only available through a prescription. Pharmacies make easy targets for several reasons; firstly, they usually do not undertake the regular security precautions that other high risk vendors employ; such as the bullet-proof glass found in many gas stations and banks. Secondly, the nature of a pharmacy entails a relaxed and unsuspecting environment, with easy access to the public; this fact gives robbers the element of surprise. Another element adds to the problem of pharmacy hold ups, the suspects are not usually from the municipality where the pharmacy is located; they commonly travel from poorer neighborhoods. It seems as though the criminals are avoiding local pharmacies because they would have more active and passive protective measures against robberies. The most common active protective measure is a weapon, such as a firearm or chemical spray.

However, the problem lies not only in prevention of the robberies, but in avoidance of those factors that lead individuals to commit such crimes. Morphine and OxyCotin are some of the most widely abused prescription drugs, so much in fact that the FDA released a 63 page report on the abuse of OxyCotin. In my opinion, the prevention of drug addiction is a better method of addressing the issue. However, it must be stated that much is already being to in order to help prevent the abuse of OxyCotin and drugs of the sort. One of the best possible methods to prevent such abuse is to monitor the use of these drugs to patients who have legitimate prescriptions. More often than not, users become dependent while they are using it with a valid prescription. However, when the prescription runs out, users find they are addicted, and search for new means to access the same drug. Some individuals claim that they have lost their supply, and request more, others buy it illegally on the black market, and some take the extreme measure of robbing suppliers, such as pharmacies or even hospitals. On the other hand, it can be argued that an individual willing to commit armed robbery is immune to any prevention methods available, and that the nature of that individual renders him helpless. Honestly, I cannot think of a strong counterargument other than to say that modern science is incapable of correctly diagnosing an individual as “beyond help” and thus we must as a fair society treat all members in danger of drug addiction or violence as being within the bounds of aid. Unfortunately however, I believe that modern pharmacies and government agencies are ignoring abuse-prevention, and instead are focusing their energies on robbery prevention.