NOTICE: Please Read!

I have been unable to post for quite some time, for some personal and legal reasons, which I will be writing about very soon.

Also, I have been unable to update many of the links on this blog. I hope you will keep in touch through the following services, I will be back soon!

Twitter: twitter.com/BrianEdwardGoss

Gmail: begoss(at)gmail.com

Facebook: Brian Goss (in Scranton, PA)

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me for all of your support.

~Brian G.

Not Another Sequel! “Drugstore Cowboy” Author James Fogle Arrested for Pharmacy Robbery (Again).

"Drugstore Cowboy" Author James Fogle

I have written about pharmacy robberies on these pages many times before, but this is a most interesting development…

Apparently Fogle and another man were caught mid-spree trying to liberate what has been described as “garbage cans full of drugs” from a Redmond (Washington) pharmacy.

For those who may not know (really?), James Fogle wrote what would become the critically acclaimed “Drugstore Cowboy” from his California prison cell in the 1970s. The book achieved some critical acclaim, and was later (in 1989) adapted for the silver screen by none other than Gus Van Sant.

I’m trying to decide what will be sadder, James possibly spending the rest of his life in prison, or the media using this story to obfuscate and confuse the recent surge in pharmacy robberies, which is fast-becoming one of the most serious aspects of the Painkiller Epidemic.

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More on Pharmacy Robbery at SWALLOW Blog:

• Ohio Has Twice As Many Pharmacy Robberies As Bank Robberies
• Central Florida Marks 50th Pharmacy Robbery This Year
• Pennsylvania Pharmacy Robberies on the Rise

For more on this story:

• Story: www.q13fox.com

Wal-Mart Pharmacy Defrauded out of 9,000 Painkillers

Scranton, PA Woman accused of defrauding Wal-Mart Pharmacy of 9,000 painkillers

See… now this is something. I am not going to get into too many details right now (I will get into them here soon), but there are so many holes in the way Opiate/Opiod Prescription Painkillers (and prescriptions in general) are filled by pharmacies that it’s down-right embarrassing. You will meet more resistance cashing a payroll check at your average bank than you will filling a prescription for a powerful narcotic at most pharmacies.

“Sara L. Bubser, 54, deceived the pharmacy for eight years until someone at Walmart recently called the doctor to verify the orders…” —The Scranton Times-Tribune

Where to begin? Let’s see… Most pharmacies will not check your ID. They rely on “pharmacy technicians” too heavily.  And the DEA numbers that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians count on to demonstrate “authenticity”… are a cruel joke.

There are little-to-no standards for the design of prescription pads. Ditto with procedures for phoning and faxing in prescriptions. I could go on. What went wrong at this Wal-Mart Pharmacy in this case? There are few details so far…

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• Read the Scranton Times-Tribune story for more information

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Win a copy of The Death Proclamation of Generation X by Max Furek!

Win this Book!

To launch the new SWALLOW Blog facebook page, I’m announcing our first Book Giveaway (More to come!).

To win this one, “The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin” by Max Furek, just join the SWALLOW Blog facebook page by 5/15.

All you have to do to be eligible is click on the facebook badge in the right-hand column of this site, or follow this link to facebook, and join/follow my page on facebook… by May 15th, 2010.

That’s it!

Big, Big, Things

Brian G., Editor/Founder

First-things-first, I want to apologize for my inconsistency in posting over the past few months. I have had a number of competing interests: partnerships, writing projects, other social media (damn you Twitter!), etc. piling up lately, and I haven’t given SwallowedBlog.com the attention it deserves.

But make no mistake, the Painkiller Epidemic is not going away, in fact—it’s only getting worse.
So what are these “Big Things” you say? Well first of all, a whole new website is coming, which I will begin beta-testing over the next few weeks. The new site will integrate all of my efforts, Painkiller Epidemic Blogging, related writing, Facebook, Twitter and more… all under the same masthead.

You’ll also be seeing more guest columns on the new site, as well as seeing some of my writing on issues surrounding the Painkiller Epidemic appearing on other sites.

To keep in touch with all of the exciting changes coming to SWALLOW Blog, please connect with me on the following sites: (Thank You!)

• The New SWALLOW Blog Facebook Page
• Follow SWALLOW on Twitter