FEATURE
DIVERSION
OF PRESCRIPTION
MEDICATION
HOW TO MINIMIZE
YOUR RISK
A
pharmacist alerts you that she has re-
ceived a suspicious looking prescription
for 100 OxyContin pills with you named
as the prescriber. After you confirm that
the prescription was not issued by you, you may be left
wondering what your next step should be.
Diversion of prescription medication can occur in
many ways such as drug theft, the selling of legiti-
mate prescriptions, and prescription theft and forgery.
The problem is difficult to quantify, because so many
instances either go undiscovered or unreported. There
are indications, however, that diversion is a serious
problem. For example, Health Canada data reports
that nine million doses of controlled substances —
most of them opioids — were reported missing between
Jan. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2017. The number of pills,
patches and packages reported missing has steadily
increased each year since 2013.
The problem is such that the Ontario Provincial Po-
lice has full-time staff dedicated to waging war on those
who commit prescription drug diversion.
OPP Det.-Const. Chris Auger of the Prescription
ISSUE 3, 2018 DIALOGUE
9