Rise in drug charges result of rise in drug abuse

Drug charges seem to have reached all-time highs around the Pittsburgh region. This is mainly due to the sharp upturn of illegal drug abuse in the state of Pennsylvania over the past few years. In some places, such as parts of Washington County, overdose deaths devastated more than fifty-five families. The precursor to many of these addicts’ addictions is prescription pills. People who become addicted to prescription pills often soon turn to illegal drugs, such as heroin, when they run out of their prescription or their addiction becomes so bad that they have no more money to purchase the painkillers. Of course, when someone gets sick or dies as a result of a drug overdose, authorities’ number one goal is to find the dealer and place that person under arrest for various different types of drug charges. In an effort to clean up Pennsylvania and make it harder for painkiller users to become painkiller abusers, the PA State Senate has approved a bill that would monitor painkiller purchases. Pennsylvania lawmakers’ plan is to create a statewide digital catalogue to track the names and addresses of people who are prescribed certain types of marked drugs, such as OxyContin, Percocet, and variations of codeine. A detail of the new bill would be that police officers could use the information in the database to make arrests, but that they would need a warrant to access the records first. Approvers of the law say that it will drastically cut down the amount of people who abuse prescription painkillers. The opposition holds firm that people will simply turn to heroin–a much cheaper high–and that the stats will only cast a shadow on the heroin epidemic. If the law is approved, it is the hope of all that those Pennsylvanians who are dealing with drug addiction will be able to benefit from this program and realize the harm they are doing to themselves before it’s too late. If they are kept from filling more painkiller prescriptions, it may keep them out of jail from drug charges such as misdemeanor possession, felony drug trafficking, or painkiller prescription fraud. If you or someone you know is facing drug charges, please call Pittsburgh criminal defense attorney Gary Gerson to talk about the details of your arrest. Having the right criminal defense lawyer on your side will make all the difference when it comes time for sentencing and other such proceedings. Call The Law Offices of Gary E. Gerson today at 412-219-6875 for a free consultation.