Oxycontin
An Officer Safety Overview:

With increasing frequency, drug abusers and dealers, often brandishing firearms, are bursting into pharmacies nationwide, demanding that terrified pharmacists hand over all of their Oxycontin. The opioid painkiller that has now become the street drug of choice.

There have been at least 700 Oxycontin (oxycodone HCI, extended-release tablets, Purdue Pharma) thefts during the last two years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Office of Diversion Control. Florida racked up 82 thefts, Pennsylvania 90, 69 in Kentucky, Ohio had 74, and California had 34 and counting. Massachusetts is another state being hit hard by the rash of violent pharmacy robberies.

So what is this powerful new drug, and what does it do? Who’s using it, and why is it such a powerful draw to the street level dealer and user?

First, let’s cover what it is and what it does. Oxycontin is a trade name for the drug Oxycodone Hydrochloride. Manufactured by Purdue Pharma L.P. of Stamford, Connecticut. Oxycontin is a controlled – release (remember that) form of oxycodone prescribed to treat chronic pain. When used properly, Oxycontin can provide pain relief for up to 12 hours.

Oxycodone is considered to be a Schedule II controlled substance. This means that it is under the legal control of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). One of the main factors that goes into the “scheduling” of a particular drug is the drug’s potential for abuse. Once a drug is classified as a controlled substance, it becomes subject to a formal system that includes registration, record keeping, distribution restrictions, dispensing limits and reports to the DEA.

Let’s talk about what makes “Oxy” (a.k.a. “Hillbilly Heroin”, etc.) a controlled substance, what it does and, how it works. Oxycodone is an agonist opioid. Opioid agonists are the most effective pain relievers available. Unlike other types of pain relievers, opioid agonists have an increasing analgesic effect with increased doses. In other words, the more you take, the better you feel. As police officers, we all have, what should be basic issue, the extra large bottle of aspirin or acetaminophen in our lockers, or desks drawers, in case of the frequent “ job related “ head or backache. Although they too are considered analgesics, they have a threshold to their effectiveness due to being non-opioid in nature. So for people who suffer chronic pain, a medication like Oxycontin can be very beneficial. It can provide up to four times the relief of a non-opioid analgesic, like aspirin, so even the most severe degree of pain, such as that suffered by cancer patients, can be managed.

Now let’s talk effects on the body. Once oxycodone enters the body, it works by stimulating certain opioid receptors that are located throughout the central nervous system, in the brain, and along the spinal cord. When the oxycodone binds to the opioid receptors, a variety of responses can occur, pain relief, the intended use of the drug is one, and slowed breathing and euphoria are some other effects.

The drug is abused by an individual by crushing the long acting prep, or, controlled release mechanism, off of the tablet. They then either chew, snort or inject the drug and, void of the slow release medium, the drug immediately hits the system with an intense and instant “high”. The repeated use of the drug can cause a tolerance to develop, so larger doses are required by the individual users to elicit the same desired sensation. Then what happens is what we all as police officers have become too familiar with…The cycle of addiction.

The drug is manufactured in 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 milligram doses. With a current street value of $1 per milligram, the drug has become big business for the street level dealer. Simple math would show that the dealer who can steal 10 bottles of Oxycontin, containing fifty, 80 milligram tablets can make an astronomical amount of money selling a product that requires no smuggling, little to no room needed for concealment, no grow lights, or secret rooms or protected fields in a secluded wood. The absence of the dangers of dealing with mid level drug dealers and not having to worry about the constant threat of drug rips or counterfeit product, make this a very tempting, and highly profitable enterprise. This is where officer safety issues begin.

Strategies and precautions for the street officer

The first thing the individual officer, or the parent department, must do is identify where the drug may be warehoused, or sold, in the community or jurisdiction. The highest profile places are naturally the individual pharmacies or prescription centers in the area. We need to be aware that the crime we are most likely going to incur is the “strong arm” style robbery, involving force, up to and including the use of firearms. The robbery may involve several persons including lookouts, and drivers, and may be highly organized.

Saturation patrol techniques may afford the beats, or areas, containing the largest amount of pharmacies in the community, the added manpower to effectively curtail an incidence of robbery by deterring would be thieves by shear presence alone. Intelligence efforts by local vice and narcotics details can lead to the effective early termination of an attempted felonious action before it happens.

It’s a pretty safe bet that most pharmacists and there employers have been advised of the high level of criminal incidence concerning the selling and distribution of Oxycontin. It is still imperative to at least touch base with the local merchants and advise them of your awareness of the problem, and to give them sound advice on how to deal with a robbery situation should it occur.

Another reactive or preemptive response may also be to see if the pharmacy would want a uniformed officer to provide “walkthrough“type checks throughout his or her tour of duty. If this is the case, it is paramount that the officer advise dispatch that they will be out of their unit providing that service: such a basic communication tactic provides the officer with informed backup should they encounter a crime in progress. Checks should be random to avoid a pattern being picked up on by thieves. To minimize the threat of potential employee crimes, the department may want to offer a cooperative work agreement to the pharmacies, gathering the requisite information on new-hires and checking their background for drug related crimes. While the release of criminal history information is controlled, there is always a way to manipulate and use such information beneficially once it is acquired.

Individual shifts, or officers in and around pharmacy loaded beats, may want to develop a plan of action should a call for service be taken involving a robbery of one of the businesses. Officers in those “high threat” beats may want to be extra vigilant of suspicious activity or behaviors around the commercial areas containing the pharmacies.

If these calls for service are received, especially those of an in progress nature, they are not to be handled alone. Officers should respond with the highest level of precaution especially if weapons were shown by multiple perpetrators. If the option to carry a shotgun or patrol carbine is afforded, it should be taken advantage of by the officers patrolling beats containing pharmacies. As always, proper officer survival tactics should be observed foremost as the officers respond.

Officers should be conscious of vehicle placement, and other cover options, when responding to calls involving possible armed robberies in pharmacies. Proper caution has to be taken if discharging your weapon in the interior of a pharmacy. These stores are usually fairly square in nature and contain rows of goods running lengthwise through the interior. Be cautious of the lack of backstop when employing your firearm. This rings especially true if shotguns or carbines are employed. Other things to consider are the layouts of the establishments allowing for rudimentary ambush techniques to be employed against you. The fact that many chain store pharmacies place large mirrored walls along the backs of the stores enabling an observant criminal to track your location or approach from a concealed position is something that also has to be taken into consideration. Floor plans and structural drawings should be attained for use should a robbery compromise lead to a protracted hostage stand off. Tactical response personnel should be made aware of this particular threat and specific training should be implemented to simulate a situation involving entries or gas plans on specific pharmacies in the community.

Agencies should impress upon pharmacies to retrain their employees about crime awareness, check their security equipment, give police their hours of operation, and request more frequent visits by officers on patrol. Emphasis on being excellent witnesses and not taking any unnecessary chances at apprehension, or other proactive “police’ type activity, should be stressed to the employees.

Agencies that are experiencing repeated incidents of robberies at certain pharmacies should offer the possibilities of a uniformed presence during hours of operation and should step up surveillance and detection measures to ensure apprehension as soon as possible. An operation involving LEO’s operating in the capacity of store employees maybe a dangerous proposition should a running gun battle or crisis situation ensue with a store full of employees and customers. Remember that pharmacies naturally bring a higher populous of elderly and people who are suffering some form of debilitation that precludes them from normal ambulatory movement. If and when a situation develops, taking these factors into consideration may deter the needless injury of an onlooker. As always, we need to weigh the safety of the community against the apprehension of criminals.

Modern society brings modern developments that are ultimately designed to assist us in all areas of our lives. Unfortunately, there is always that fraction of society that will find a way to alter and pervert an otherwise productive item and twist it to accommodate their needs. The drug Oxycontin, notwithstanding, has fallen into this category.

As usual, we as police officers are charged with providing the necessary assistance to the public to quell the problem, and restore order to the disorder. With an interdepartmental strategy in place, training to reinforce it, and networking with individuals in the community who are most at risk of this particular crime wave, we can provide a safer community and a means to an end for this dangerous crime epidemic.


Allan Garcia

Allan Garcia is a military service veteran, having served with the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, a police officer in Middletown, R.I. since 1988, firearms instructor for his department and his state’s municipal academy, field training officer, and has been a SWAT team operator since 1991 in Rhode Island. Officer Garcia has extensive field experience involving crimes revolving around the violence of the drug community. Officer Garcia enjoys comments and can be reached via email at: AJG3663@cox.net