Prescribed drugs can kill

Police say pensioners are being lured into the black market by being offered hundreds of dollars to sell medications like OxyContin, Xanax and, more recently, fentanyl.

In the past three weeks, two people in their early thirties have died from suspected overdoses from the pain-killing patch.

One of those was a mother whose body was discovered by her young children in their bathroom last month.

Pharmaceutical nurse Martin Eames, from Gateway Community Health, said the abuse of pharmaceuticals in Albury-Wodonga had become far more deadly than the use of illegal drugs.

“The celebrity deaths you hear of overseas are normally prescribed medicine ... and in the US it’s the trend that more people are overdosing on prescription drugs,” he said.

“Locally, we’re starting to follow that trend.

“Before you might have had a death every five years but there has been a dramatic increase in the past 18 months. There’s at least five (deaths) that I’m aware of.”

Authorities say one of the reasons prescription drugs are becoming so popular is because it is relatively easy for people to access them.

Doctor shopping is a major concern, while some users get their drugs from family members who have been legitimately prescribed the medication, or use dealers.

Detective Sen-Sgt Barry McIntosh, of Wangaratta Police, said some people were “supplementing” their pension payments by selling their medication.

He said they could sell a box of tablets they bought at $5.80 for $400 or $500.

Mr Eames said people were being approached in pharmacies and offered hundreds of dollars for their medication.

He said he used to have a client that sold prescription medicine on the black market.

“He didn’t have his own prescription but he had 60 or 70 people that he could buy from in Albury-Wodonga,” he said.

Police on both sides of the Border know people are pressured by their family members to hand over pharmaceuticals.

In a disturbing incident reported to community workers, the carer of a terminally ill person stole the patient’s medication, leaving them without adequate pain relief.

Albury Police Insp David Cottee said they had arrested someone for harassing an elderly person for their OxyContin, a narcotic pain reliever.

Meanwhile, police often get reports of stolen prescription drugs.

But Insp Cottee said it was difficult for them to know if the drugs were genuinely stolen or if it was a scam to get another script from the doctor.

In his opinion, there should be greater regulation to help prevent drugs of addiction being prescribed to the wrong person.

“If someone is prescribed an opiate pain medication for longer than two months they (should be) referred to a pain management counsellor,” he said.

“It’s a complex issue, there is an expectation that when people go to see a doctor they get a magic pill. Sometimes that expectation is unrealistic.”

Meanwhile, Mr Eames said fentanyl claimed another victim this week — an Albury man.