Depression, Xanax, Xanax addiction

Drug officers warn of increasing abuse of prescription drugs

Drug officers warn of increasing abuse of prescription drugs

HOUSTON—Law enforcement officials are warning that abuse of prescription painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs is on the rise in Southeast Texas and say that increased state regulation is required to address the growing problem.

Houston narcotics officers this year have seized nearly 216,000 grams of hydrocodone, up from about 9,000 grams in 2005 and about 58,500 grams in 2006. Hydrocodone is commonly marketed with acetaminophen as the prescription painkillers Vicodin or Lorcet.

So far this year, Houston police have seized more than 43,000 grams of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. In 2005, they seized nearly 2,400 grams of Xanax, and in 2006 more than 10,000 grams.

The increased traffic is the latest sign that the Houston area has become a hub for the distribution of illegal drugs, said John Kowal, a narcotics investigator with the Houston Police Department. Southeast Texas has become “the mecca the home center for prescription drug abuse,” he told the Houston Chronicle in a story posted on its Web site Monday.

While many of the drugs stay in the city, Houston is also considered an entry point for drugs that end up in Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to officials from the Houston High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a program through the National Office of Drug Control Policy.

Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Perry signed a bill that expands Department of Public Safety monitoring of hydrocodone and Xanax. Narcotics officers want Texas

lawmakers to reclassify those drugs into a category with more dangerous, addictive drugs. That would trigger additional DPS scrutiny.

“We have to change the overall approach that the state has in regards to regulation,” said Houston police Lt. Gray Smith.

Officials say the Texas Legislature could help.

“I don’t think this is something that we can just turn our backs to and ignore and hope it will go away,” said Stan Furce, director of the Houston drug trafficking area. “Law enforcement has minimal resources to put toward it, and I don’t think we can enforce out of this. I think we need to legislate and regulate our way out of it.”