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Dec-10-2011 02:20printcomments

Are Pill Mill Pharmacies replacing Family Pharmacies throughout the country?

"It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty -- and how few by deceit." Noel Coward

Haven Drugs Pharmacy
Haven Drugs Pharmacy is billed as a "family pharmacy" yet no reputable pharmacy finds the need to advertise "Open to the Public" on their building.

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - It is widely known that we are experiencing a prescription drug epidemic in every state in the country. This is being fueled by people wanting to feed their drug habits and doctor shopping or robbing pharmacies for their drugs of choice. Some pharmacy chains are taking aggressive steps to safeguard their employees from drugs being taken at gunpoint.

Walgreens has put time-delayed safes in all of their Washington stores to house their supply of OxyContin. This does not safeguard their employees in 49 other states though.

CVS has notified some Florida physicians and the state's surgeon general that it will not fill prescriptions for some narcotics including OxyContin (read the letter here.) I would have liked to have seen an executive's signature from CVS on the letter -- not just a CVS signature line. In 2010, deaths due to OxyContin were up 27.9% compared to 2009.

I commend CVS and Walgreens for their positive steps in keeping employees and patrons of their pharmacies safe -- hopefully this safety net will cover the 49 remaining states who are not benefiting from their life-saving action.

In 2008, I had a telephone conversation with then Chairman of the Board and CEO of Walgreens, Jeffrey Rein. At that time, he advised there were "hot spots" in the country of pharmacy robberies and as a result, Walgreens was not stocking OxyContin in these hot spots.

I asked if they had ever considered having the drug available only in a hospital pharmacy where there is a police and security presence. Mr. Rein's concern was the safety of his employees and although he liked my idea, he expressed concern for people in rural areas with no hospital in close proximity of a Walgreens being able to fill their prescriptions.

(Photo of Bryon Sheffield)

On Father's Day this year, an OxyContin addicted man walked into the Haven Drugs Pharmacy in Medford, Long Island, NY. His objective was to steal narcotics to feed his addiction as well as his wife's. The addict's name is David Laffer -- although he is now known as a cowardly killer of 4 innocent lives.

Laffer systematically eliminated the lives of a young girl whose ambition was to become a physician. Her name was Jennifer Mejia, 17. Another victim was the pharmacist. A family man named Raymond Ferguson, 45. A woman planning her wedding and also the mother of two young children was named Jamie Taccetta, 33. The fourth victim was a father and grandfather with a kind heart and loved by many named Bryon Sheffield, 71.

These families will face the holidays with an empty chair at the dinner table and only memories of past holidays filled with celebration of life.

A woman living close to Haven Drugs Pharmacy referred to it as a "family pharmacy" in an interview with a local newspaper. I would ask her to look at the sign above the pharmacy she is referring to as a family pharmacy. The only thing missing is a blinking neon sign inviting an addict to rob them.

No reputable pharmacy finds the need to advertise "Open to the Public" on their building. Anyone ever see a Walgreens, or a CVS, or a Rite-Aid Pharmacy with signs indicating "Open to the Public?"

David Laffer and wife Melinda Brady
(Credit: Suffolk County Police Dept.)

The wife of David Laffer, low life murderer, waited outside in her car with the engine running. She plotted the robbery at Haven Drugs to feed her narcotic addiction. Her name is Melinda Brady Laffer.

So what is the difference between a Walgreens,a CVS Pharmacy, a Rite-Aid Pharmacy and a Haven Drugs Pharmacy? I don't ever recall seeing a sign in front of any family pharmacy with the words "Open to the Public". I also don't recall seeing steel grates on the windows and a pull down steel door to secure the entrance to the pharmacy. Wonder what kind of message this sends to a drug crazed addict with no conscience and no value of human life -- except to feed his drug habit?. Could it be interpreted by the addict as a pharmacy housing an arsenal of narcotics?

Laffer came prepared with a backpack to load up on any narcotics he could get his hands on. In this case, he made off with 11,000 hydrocodone pills -- the main ingredient in a very addictive drug called Vicodin. The backpack couldn't hold any more narcotics than the 11,000 that Laffer crammed into the bag. What family pharmacy stocks 11,000 hydrocodone pills? There can't possibly be that much pain in Medford, NY -- a 10 square mile hamlet with approximately 24,000 residents. I hope someone from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) conducts an investigation into the need for any pharmacy to stock any dangerous narcotic in such a huge quantity -- and that's only hydrocodone pills.

State records show that the Laffers filled prescriptions for almost 12,000 pain pills from dozens of doctors over four years. A Long Island newspaper "Newsday" reported that David Laffer and his wife got one-third of that total - 4,251 pills - in the first six months of this year. Laffer was sentenced recently to consecutive sentences of life in prison without parole. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. The judge asked that he be kept in solitary confinement for the rest of his life. Laffer has been quoted as saying he expects to be killed while in prison. Hopefully this will not happen. Laffer should live to be 100 years old in solitary confinement knowing every day that he eliminated the promising lives of people who were loved by many. His addict wife pleaded guilty to robbery charges and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In the meantime, I can't imagine why a family pharmacy would project its "we are well stocked with narcotics" in an "Open to the Public" sign and steel grates and doors It's too late for four innocent victims, but I have to think there are other pharmacies around the country advertising their drug stash to addicts by projecting the appearance that Haven Drugs did on Father's Day to low life addicts with no value of human life.

"Open to the Public" does not suggest a mom and pop pharmacy -- it suggests a pill mill pharmacy! Are you hearing what I'm saying DEA?

LP - For our love, laughter, faith, peace and especially learning how to charge a Toyota battery -- I thank God.

_________________________________
Salem-News.com Reporter Marianne Skolek, is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin and Purdue Pharma throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2007, she testified against Purdue Pharma in Federal Court in Virginia at the sentencing of their three CEO's - Michael Friedman, Howard Udell and Paul Goldenheim - who pleaded guilty to charges of marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients. She also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007. Marianne works with government agencies and private attorneys in having a voice for her daughter Jill, who died in 2002 after being prescribed OxyContin, as well as the voice for scores of victims of OxyContin. She has been involved in her work for the past 8-1/2 years and is currently working on a book that exposes Purdue Pharma for their continued criminal marketing of OxyContin.

Marianne is a nurse having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.

Marianne Skolek
National Activist for Victims of OxyContin and
Purdue Pharma - a criminally convicted pharmaceutical company
Staff Writer, Salem-News.com

www.purduepharma.com/pressroom/app/news_announc/USGovt_reponse_Main.pdf

judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=2905&wit_id=6612

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/sebelius-response.pdf

http://www.vawd.uscourts.gov/PurdueFrederickCo/default.asp

www.oxydeaths.com




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RMP December 16, 2011 9:12 am (Pacific time)

"Open to the Public". No you wont find that in a Walgreens or a CVS because there is no long standing history to these stores. This is a Nostalgic statement, bringing us back to the good times of Pharmacy, when it used to be a family practice years ago. How dare those judge when they don't understand.

Editor: Yes, nostalgia to a degree, but that is because it brings to mind a time of decency and fairness and regulations that governed sick greedy behavior. 


Travis December 13, 2011 8:08 pm (Pacific time)

I agree with Jeff, this is very "blame the victim" mentality. This is a horrible slant of a tragic occurrence. Your responses to Jeff are heartless and this article is poorly written.

Editor: No it isn't, one more like this and I will not approve your comment, you are from the industry, you are another profiteer and this is the MO of all expressing anger; they are and addicts represent the two 'most concerned' groups.  Businesses of this nature need to maintain some class, so do their supporters.  


Concerned for the pharmacy December 12, 2011 5:20 pm (Pacific time)

Seriously, you are blaming the pharmacy....Did you ever think they have bars on their doors/windows because they are trying to keep burglars OUT while the store is closed???? My dad owns an independent pharmacy for over 40 years, and has been burglarized many times over the years, he has to have some means of defense to protect his store, otherwise they would break in on regular basis. These people have no regard for the costs that the pharmacy has to take on to fix every broken window, etc. I agree, open to the public, doesn't mean they are open to sell as many narcotics as possible. Grab a clue lady, these two people were addicts and wanted drugs, it is in NO WAY the pharmacies fault.


Mollie Moore December 12, 2011 11:16 am (Pacific time)

"In 2010, deaths due to OxyContin were up 27.9% compared to 2009." Can you cite a source for this? I am interested in this as well as some other related stats.


Ada December 12, 2011 9:02 am (Pacific time)

This whole scenario is tragic.... Tragic for those who lost their lives and their families but also for the addicted individuals who committed this horrible crime....they lost their lives to legally prescribed drugs a long time ago. Let's not forget how powerful and dangerous these drugs are. Opioid narcotics should be prescribed judiciously and even then these heroin-like drugs are "not safe as prescribed".


Jeff Ellis R.Ph. December 10, 2011 8:27 am (Pacific time)

The more I read this article, the more offended I am. This is a tragic story for the murdered victims in the story. But the author seems to be succumbing to the “blame the victim” defense. How does “We are open to the public” equate to “we are well stocked with narcotics”? Maybe “We are open to the public” means “We are open to the public”. Correct me if I am wrong, but the object of being in business is to sell your product.

 Editor: In media and press, in the USA, there is an historic agreement among professionals like doctors, attorneys and accountants, to not advertise in manners that are flagrant or classless.  

To sell your product, you have to get people in the front door. Walgreens and CVS spend millions and millions of dollars explaining to the public who they are and do not need the “open to the public” sign. The Walgreens and CVS emblems say it all. Small businesses do not have that luxury and sometimes have to get blatant in their explanations of what they do. And, oddly enough, pharmacies are in the business of dispensing narcotics. This is what they do.

 Editor: Right and some business deal in a mercenary trade, perhaps all that sell deadly drugs or deal in life and death have a higher responsibility to the public.

All pharmacies are well stocked with narcotics. If they were not, they would be a convenience store.

 Editor: Right, and if some people had their way they would sell it at the corner store, I am surprised at the pro-drug positions people have today, addiction is a harsh thing.

Unfortunately, people do live with pain and there is a need in the community for narcotics. Pharmacy has been given the responsibility of fulfilling this need.

 Editor: People who choose to open and run a pharmacy have not been 'given' anything except maybe a license, and that is because any and all in this business are strictly there to profit from it, and it is a disgusting reality.  

 A normal (not “Pill Mill”) pharmacy easily dispenses 12,000 pain pill in a month. Because you can’t imagine there is “that much pain in a community of 24,000” doesn’t not mean there is NOT that much pain. It just means you have a small imagination. And stocking 12,000 pain pills is not justification for murder. (And since when is not having bars on the windows and a pull down metal door is an invitation to narcotic abusers?)


I understand and sympathize with the author and appreciate what she is doing for people and the community. Narcotic abuse exists and should be fought at every chance available. The Oxycontin story is true and Purdue Frederick may have used immoral methods to market their product and should be prosecuted if they did.

 Editor: Let's not gloss over this, the officials from Purdue were already convicted, Purdue is a criminally convicted company, a felon of an organization.

The author is obviously extremely pained by narcotic abuse and seems to be working feverishly to fight it. I commend her for that. But blaming the pharmacy for being robbed and people murdered is akin to blaming the victim for being raped. It is abhorrent.

Editor: Again Jeff, this is all a matter of profit and choice, nobody has sympathy for those who profit from drugs in sloppy ways.

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Sean Flynn was a photojournalist in Vietnam, taken captive in 1970 in Cambodia and never seen again.

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