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

Study Suggests Addiction Can be Subconscious

A study conducted by Dr. Ana Rose Childress and Dr. Charles O’Brien of the University of Pennsylvania shows drug craving “triggers” are activated in the part of the brain responsible for emotions and rewards.

Cocaine addicts were shown a series of images for 33 milliseconds each—not nearly enough time to register consciously—yet brain imaging of the study participants showed activity in the limbic system (the area of the brain that is directly associated with reward) that coincided with the images.

“[The study] is the first evidence that cues outside one’s awareness can trigger rapid activation of the circuits driving drug-seeking behavior.”

-Dr. Ana Rose Childress

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Original post:  Study Shows How the Subconscious is Related to Drug Addiction

Image courtesy Wikipedia

Painkiller Epidemic Update: Painkillers Now Top “Street Drugs” in Demand

JACKSONVILLE, FL – An article on today’s Jacksonville.com asserts that legal prescription drugs have surpassed illegal drugs in terms of demand on the street—and as Florida Department of Law Enforcement Special Agent Dominick Pape says, “Prescription drugs aren’t flooding the streets because of curious kids raiding the medicine cabinet.” Dear readers, we are talking about an escalation to serious organized-crime-level operations here—from your basic doctor shopping and forged prescriptions, to armed robbery and smash-and-grabs.

“This is out of control… There’s a whole new type of junkie out there that wants these [prescription] drugs, and they’re carrying guns.”

—Pharmacist Denise Stiles-Yount

In this space just a few days ago, I wrote a post about a study which showed that, in Florida in 2007, prescription painkiller use resulted in 300% more deaths than the usual “street drugs”. Now we are finding that, in Florida at least, painkillers are not only gaining in popularity, but are in greater demand than so-called “hard drugs” like cocaine and heroin. Florida may well prove to be ground zero for the unfolding of the painkiller epidemic story.

• View other Painkiller Epidemic Updates

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Source: Jacksonville.com – Top drugs on street now Rx