Prescription Drugs

Have unwanted prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet? Don't toss them in the trash or leave them to experimenting hands. Drop them off at a designated site on National Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday. State health officials say abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise -- between 2007 and 2010, the percentage of prescription drug-related admissions to Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration -funded treatment programs nearly doubled, resulting in one in five admissions.

Marylanders spent $44.5 billion on personal health care in 2010 as costs in the state continued to outpace the nation, according to a new report. Spending on services including hospital care, prescription drugs and long-term care increased 3.5 percent compared to 2009, according to the report by The Maryland Health Care Commission. On average a Maryland resident spent $7,698 on healthcare in 2010, 9 percent higher than the national average of $7,066. The biggest chunk of money in Maryland was spent on hospital care, which accounted for one-third of spending.

Local police departments are participating in the National Take Back Initiative this weekend by providing an opportunity for residents to turn in expired or unwanted prescriptive substances and other medications. At the take-back day, controlled, non-controlled and over-the-counter substances will all be collected, and donors will remain anonymous; no requests for identification will be made. Participants should remove any identifying information that might be found on a prescription label on a container.

Two unidentified operators of a prescription drug clinic in Lutherville that was raided by Baltimore County narcotics officers and Drug Enforcement Administration agents Tuesday have been arrested, according to county police. One was arrested at the Healthy Life Medical Group clinic in the 1100 block of York Road, the other at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, police said. Both have been charged with conspiracy to distribute Schedule II narcotics, which include amphetamines, methamphetamines and other drugs that can be used in a medical setting but have "a high potential for abuse which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence," according to the DEA website.

A Frederick County woman accused of trying to buy prescription drugs by using a false name was arrested at a Woodbine pharmacy and charged with several counts, the Carroll County Sheriff's Department said. Deputies arrested Sue Ellen Luckenbaugh, 38, of New Market after a woman tried to purchase the anti-anxiety prescription drug Xanax at King's Pharmacy under an assumed name, they said. Workers at the pharmacy had complained to authorities last week after receiving phone calls requesting Xanax from a woman who said she worked for a local physician.

Two Maryland men have been indicted in federal court for illegally selling prescription drugs over the Internet and several other charges related to dispensing 10 million painkillers from their Baltimore pharmacy over two years - leading to overdose deaths of two customers, according to federal prosecutors. Pharmacists Steven Abiodun Sodipo, 51, of Forest Hill and Callixtus Onigbo Nwaehiri, 48, of Jarrettsville were indicted Friday on charges of illegally selling 9,936,075 pills of hydrocodone over the Internet, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and in monetary transactions using illegal proceeds, and tax charges, according to Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein's office.

Someone broke into a house in the first block of Gambrills Road in Severn and stole nearly $300 in prescription drugs, county police said.A resident of the house told police the intruder used a broom handle to break the glass in a rear door about 2:30 p.m. Friday to get inside and take the drugs.He said he recognized the man running from his home, police said.

DRUG COMPANY officials can hardly believe their ears. Sen. Slade Gorton of Washington, a Republican, wants government to force down the prices they charge Americans for prescription drugs. He calls them "the new health-care villains." Folks in the pharmaceutical industry should know that there is nothing wrong with their hearing. It was only last October that the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America unleashed a spry old lady named Flo on the American public. In numerous ads, Flo envisioned that government bureaucrats would rifle through her medicine chest if President Clinton's proposal for Medicare drug coverage became reality.

There isn't much attention paid to prescription drug abuse, except perhaps when a Hollywood star dies from an overdose. However, it is estimated that nearly one in five Americans has used prescription drugs for nonmedicinal reasons, and 15 percent may be abusing prescription drugs. This silent epidemic has become the leading cause of addiction. This week, the Maryland Chapter of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence and the University of Maryland Medical Center sponsored the annual Tuerk Conference, a gathering of 1,200 health professionals working in the field of addictions to focus on treatment and prevention of prescription drug abuse.

Robert J. Penland was working undercover, negotiating to buy a ton of raw opium in a remote Pakistani farming village, when he got a sinking feeling.He was on his own.Armed guards were posted on rooftops of the village huts, and Mr. Penland, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, could quickly become their target. His backup protection was 10 miles away."I was all by myself, on my own wits," he said recently, recalling a sting operation that eventually netted a large cache of opium, the basic ingredient for heroin.

A prescription drug clinic in Timonium was raided Tuesday afternoon by Baltimore County police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents, according to law enforcement officials. The raid followed a long-term investigation of the distribution and sale of oxycodone and other prescription drugs at the Healthy Life Medical Group in the 1100 block of York Road, according to Special Agent Edward Marcinko, of the DEA. About 25 police narcotics officers and DEA agents served a federal search warrant at the location shortly after 5 p.m., said Marcinko and Det. Cathy Batton, a county police spokeswoman.

Maryland is slated to receive $1.8 million for its part in a national settlement with Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories over allegations of illegal drug marketing, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler said Monday. Abbott will pay $100 million to 44 states and Washington, where officials had claimed the company marketed Depakote for uses other than those approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It's considered safe and effective for treating seizure disorders, mania associated with bipolar disorder and migraines.

A proposal to speed the approval of new prescription drugs has patient advocates and biotech firms — including many based in Maryland — hoping that Congress will deliver a rare dose of bipartisanship this year. Lawmakers are proposing a 6 percent increase in the fees that pharmaceutical firms pay the Food and Drug Administration to offset the cost of approving new drugs. If the measure is not signed into law by the end of September, the FDA would lose the ability to charge any fees and be forced to lay off 2,000 workers, significantly slowing review times.

Have unwanted prescription drugs in your medicine cabinet? Don't toss them in the trash or leave them to experimenting hands. Drop them off at a designated site on National Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday. State health officials say abuse of prescription drugs is on the rise -- between 2007 and 2010, the percentage of prescription drug-related admissions to Maryland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration -funded treatment programs nearly doubled, resulting in one in five admissions.

Medicare recipients in Maryland saved $46.2 million in prescription drug costs because of health care reform, the Obama Administration said today. The savings were achieved with rebates and discounts to ease the burden of the donut hole, when patients reach certain limits that require them to pay 100 percent of their prescription drug costs. The announcement was made as health care reform celebrates its second anniversary this week. In Maryland, 73,269 Medicare beneficiaries have saved an average of $630.19 onprescription drugs costs.  The savings came from a one-time $250 rebate check to seniors who hit the “donut hole” coverage gap in 2010 and a 50 percent discount on covered brand-name drugs in the donut hole in 2011.

Harford County sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police report: Aberdeen Amy Joy Warthen, 27, of the 1900 block of Fletcher Road, was arrested on two bench warrants Tuesday in cases in which she was charged with trespassing and second-degree escape. Eric Douglas Nelson, 34, of the 300 block of Paradise Road, was charged Tuesday with obtaining a prescription by altering an order and possessing a forged prescription. Brandon Marquez Robinson, 25, of the 900 block of Cambridge Road, was arrested on a bench warrant Wednesday in a case in which he was charged with driving with a suspended license.

Saying abuse of such painkillers as OxyContin and Vicodin has become a problem as big as heroin and cocaine, Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. unveiled a set of proposals yesterday designed to attack the illegal trade in prescription drugs. Curran said he will press the General Assembly to enact an electronic prescription drug monitoring program, strengthen laws prohibiting illegal trafficking in the medications, regulate unlicensed pharmacy technicians, create education campaigns and increase training for law enforcement in how to deal with the problem.

Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin found an easy way yesterday to get a standing-room-only audience: hold a town meeting for senior citizens on the high cost of prescription drugs. More than 100 elderly residents packed Pikesville Senior Center to hear Cardin, a Democrat from the 3rd District, describe his proposal to have Medicare pay for prescription drugs. It would be the first time the program covered such costs since it was founded in 1965. With some senior citizens paying thousands of dollars a year for drugs, Cardin found a sympathetic audience.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Carl Kotowski, assistant special agent in charge of the DEA Baltimore Office, presented an award to Harford County Executive David R. Craig Jan. 17 in honor of the county's successful role in the nationwide prescription drug take back days. Over the past 18 months Harford County has collected 3,750 pounds of unused or expired prescription medications for safe and proper disposal. "In the October 2011 take back initiative, Harford County ranked number one in total collection and participation," Kotowski said in a press release.

State health officials took the unusual step Thursday of suspending the authority of a Salisbury pain doctor to write prescriptions for opiates, narcotics and all other controlled dangerous substances commonly used to treat pain. The officials said Dr. Brent R. Fox wasn't conducting thorough exams of patients and was prescribing drugs in amounts outside of the standards. They will consider a permanent revocation next week and have referred the case to the state Board of Physicians for investigation of his right to practice medicine.