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Without changes in the laws, getting prescription drug addiction under control is going to be a long haul. The good news is that yesterday I read an article about a doctor pushing addictive drugs being sentenced to 20 years, and today we have another little drug ring, again with a doctor, that may get the same sentence. If we keep knocking them down quickly – and educate the public so they’re more aware of the dangers of prescription drugs and why they need drug detox, not more drugs, we may actually be able to do something about the problem.

Today’s story involves a doctor, a cop and three others. The police officer and two others allegedly posed as patients, and they apparently recruited others to do the same, and got prescriptions from the doctor. Then they filled the prescriptions and sold the drugs. The doctor was part of the alleged scheme, which went on from 2002 to 2006.

The drugs included OxyContin, Percocet, Vicodin, Dilaudid, Suboxone and Xanax and, apparently, methadone. Two patients died from methadone overdoses, and another was seriously injured. The article didn’t say if the patients were doing methadone treatment for heroin addiction.

The cop is also being charged with using controlled substances while on the job. Or, at least, while he was in possession of his weapon. He first faced charges in May of this year and has been suspended without pay since that time.

So, we have a doc gone bad, and a cop. The cop obviously has a drug problem of his own. Maybe if he’d gotten into a good drug detox program and handled his own habit, he would have been the arresting officer in this case instead of the criminal.

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