An apparent new trend regarding the abuse of prescription pills has officials worried.
With the
National Institute on Drug Abuse reporting that 52 million people over age 12 in the United States have used prescription drugs non-medically during their life, there's an alternative method users are getting ahold of their pills: fake police reports.
A recent
Gainesville Sun story claimed people are resorting to filing false police reports to say their pills have been stolen in an effort to have a doctor write them a new prescription.
"If somebody mentions pills [in a robbery or burglary] we get nervous," Gainesville Police Detective Patty Nixon told the Sun. "A lot of the false reports are being made so they can go back to the doctor to get another script."
As of mid-April when the Sun story was published, 41 reports of stolen prescription drugs were taken by police in Gainesville, Fla. in the 180 days prior.
Just this week, a
Maine woman was charged with filing a false public alarm and report after she claimed to have been robbed of her prescription drugs.
Last month, a
Montana woman claimed she had been raped and robbed of her pills. Police determined she was lying and charged her with several crimes.
Prescription drug abuse gained national attention last month after the death of music legend Prince, who reportedly had been
taking pain medication for years.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 5.1 million people abused prescription painkillers in 2010.
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