Apr. 29--A Eureka pharmacy robbed twice in a week for the powerful narcotic OxyContin® won't be carrying the drug anymore.
Cloney's Prescription Pharmacy on Harrison Avenue, and its sister business Cloney's Red Cross Pharmacy on Fifth Street, has decided it's not worth the risk to employees to carry the highly addictive pain killer.
"We're not willing to risk our lives over this drug," said Rich Spini, a partner in the pharmacy.
The Harrison Avenue store was robbed on April 19 and April 26. In both cases, a white man in his 20s brandished a handgun and demanded employees hand over OxyContin® tablets. It's not known if the same man committed the robberies.
A reward fund totaling more than $2,000 has been set up for information leading to the arrest of the robber or robbers.
Eureka police have also made recent drug busts in which OxyContin® was found. During an April 20 search of a Fourth Street motel, police arrested a woman on suspicion of dealing OxyContin® when they found three pill bottles -- two empty and one nearly empty -- that had been issued by the same doctor on the same day. The next day, police investigating possible drug sales at a Union Street apartment found OxyContin® pills along with other drugs in a woman's backpack.
Eureka Police Sgt. Steve Watson said OxyContin® and other prescription drug abuse in Humboldt County is not unusual.
"It's a lucrative trade," he said, adding that an OxyContin® pill can go for more than $35 on the street. "It's like any other controlled substance, it's something that's subject to abuse by people either illegally using it or illegally profiting from its sale."
But Watson said that arresting people for possession of heroin or methamphetamine is much easier because the drugs are clearly illegal, while OxyContin® can be legally prescribed.
Abuse of OxyContin® and related crime in the late 1990s eventually prompted many pharmacies, especially in the Appalachian region in the East, to stop carrying the drug. The narcotic is far more powerful and addictive than other opioids, and abusers often crush the tablets and snort them, or dilute the powder in water and inject it.
Mike Goldsby, senior program manager with the county's public health branch, said OxyContin® provides time-release pain relief and creates a feeling of euphoria, comfort and warmth for those who take it. Patients who are addicted have significant withdrawal symptoms when they quit, which makes treatment difficult, Goldsby said.
"It's really useful for pain relief and it also has very high abuse potential," he said.
Goldsby said addiction often drives people to buy from the black market or resort to theft or lying to their doctors about their pain.
OxyContin® abuse can lead to overdose and death, and the Humboldt County Coroner's Office does see some overdose cases each year. Coroner Dave Parris said that while prescription drug overdoses are high locally, relatively few are from OxyContin®.
"We're having overdoses of alcohol and drugs every week," Parris said.
Cloney Pharmacy owner Patrick Cloney said few of his customers are on the medication, but that OxyContin® is undoubtedly a target that can put his employees at risk.
"This seems to be the one thing that's the lightning rod and we're eliminating it from our world," Cloney said.
John Driscoll covers natural resources/industry. He can be reached at 441-0504 or jdriscoll@times-standard.com.
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