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Tara Wahoff
Drugs & Behavior
Assignment 1
10/4/2013
Addiction & Pharmaceuticals

I recently interviewed a Pharmacist in the greater Cincinnati area. Jessica Driver is a
PharmD and graduate from the University of Cincinnati. She currently works at a CVS
pharmacy in Springdale, Ohio.
This interview was educational for me. I did not realize there are pharmacists, like
Jessica, who are very concerned about the current addiction trends that exist, pertaining to
pharmaceuticals. She has a place in her heart for addicts, and wants to do her part to make sure
she is careful with the medicines she provides her patients.
In class we have learned about different types of psychoactive drugs. These are the drugs
which affect brain function, mood, and behavior (NIDA). When these drugs are administered
responsibly they can be very helpful for the people who need them. However, millions of
Americans are abusing these drugs, that is, taking them for reasons or in ways or amounts not
intended by a doctor, or taken by someone other than the person for whom they are prescribed
(NIDA). In my research, I have learned that more than 2.1 million people a year begin abusing
prescription drugs (Narconon). In all, more than 6 million people abuse prescription drugs each
year (Narconon). Commonly abused classes of prescription drugs include opioids for pain,
central nervous system depressants for anxiety and sleep disorders and stimulants for ADHD and
narcolepsy (NIDA). Knowing this information, I decided it would be interesting to interview a
pharmacist and see their perspective on the issues.
I first asked Jessica what she believed her role was as a pharmacist in working with
individuals who have a drug addiction. She explained that she feels it is the duty of the
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pharmacist to try and keep abused prescription drugs off the street. She believes that if a
pharmacist suspects anything unusual they should look into the situation before filling a
prescription. Apparently, in the past many pharmacists would simply fill any prescriptions a
doctor ordered without question. I learned how it is important as a pharmacist, to use
professional judgment and take responsibility to help control the drugs that are prescribed.
Jessica explained that the DEA and Ohio State Board of Pharmacy have been cracking
down on pharmacists for filling too many controlled medications. Pharmacists have had their
licenses suspended, and pharmacies have been fined and have lost their DEA licenses. They
should only fill prescriptions that are issued for a legitimate medical purpose by an individual
practitioner acting in the usual course of his/her professional practice. Therefore, if Jessica does
not think the prescription fits these criteria, she will contact the prescriber, or turn away the
prescription. She told me this is the policy at the CVS she works for. She will not hesitate to
have a talk with the patient and their doctor if she feels they are being overprescribed to
something.
I also learned about the OARRS. This is the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, a
system that allows medical professionals to access a report containing all controlled medications
a patient has had filled in Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio,
South Carolina, South Dakota, and Virginia. Jessica runs one on every patient. She said that
there are many corrupt doctors out there who are not keeping proper progress notes and do not
do their part to only prescribe abused medications to the right patients. She wont fill any
prescriptions from certain ones that she knows do not use the proper guidelines. Jessica also
believes it is her responsibility to report any suspicious activity. Here is one example she shared
with me:
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We had a patient who was a long-time customer of ours and always filled his percocet and oxycontin
with us he was never early when filling his prescriptions and never gave us any issues. Last week he
brought in a prescription for morphine from a different doctor. I ran an OARRS on the patient and found
out he had been using us and Walgreen's. He had been using his insurance with us filling percocet and
oxycontin from one doctor, and paying cash at Walgreen's for two different types of morphine using a
second doctor. We contacted Walgreen's and both of his doctors. He has been discharged from both
doctors and he is no longer welcome to fill at Walgreen's. We will still allow him to fill at CVS, but we
will run an OARRS before each script we will fill for him to make sure he is only using 1 pharmacy and 1
doctor.

Another question I asked Jessica was, Do you feel that you are in contact with a lot of
addicts in your line of work? She responded that she does not see a lot at her current location,
but when she was working in a low-income area prior to the location she is at now, she did. She
described three ex customers who were currently incarcerated for drug charges, and two that had
overdosed. These are just the ones that they knew about.
It seemed to upset her to talk about this. She said she thinks that addiction is very sad.
She explained it as an illness that consists of a combination of life circumstances and genetics.
I feel like she views addiction the same way I do now, as a student in this class. She mentioned
that she knows it is hard work for an addict to stop abusing drugs; they have to want to change.
Jessica said that once an addicted individual wants help there is a lot that can be done for them.
She would suggest therapy, support groups and life changes (removing bad influences from their
lives) as the backbone in helping individuals. Drug therapy can also be helpful too (suboxone
specifically), but cannot be the only treatment for the patient.
Something that really surprised me during this interview was her answer to my question
about what she believes to be the most addictive pharmaceutical. It is Stadol Nasal Spray, which
is an opioid that you spray into your nose (snort) to alleviate headaches. It is not commonly
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prescribed, but every patient that has used it has become highly addicted. I also asked her which
medications were most frequently abused. She replied:
The most commonly abused narcotic we see is oxycodone. We used to see a lot of oxycontin (extended
release oxycodone) abuse until it was reformulated (it turns into a gel and becomes inactive when
crushed, so it cannot be snorted or injected). After the reformulation of oxycontin, we saw a lot of opana
er abuse (extended release oxymorphone, an opioid). About 2 years ago they reformulated opana so it
cannot be crushed either, so opana use declined.

Finally, I asked Jessica what she feels will help in the fight against prescription drug
abuse. She told me she believes the whole structure of how we prescribe controlled medications
needs to be changed. She thinks all narcotic medications for chronic use should be handled only
by pain management doctors. These doctors should be monitored by the DEA and State Medical
Board to make sure they are complying by the regulations currently in place. Currently, they
catch doctors breaking laws and not following regulations set in place for a reason, and they may
only suspend their license for a month. Doctors rarely get their licenses taken away when they
should.
Jessica Driver, PharmD, provided me with interesting information about her job as a
pharmacist. She is a caring professional who wants to see a change in the way prescription drugs
are prescribed. Her views are similar to mine towards addicts, and she is doing her part to use
her best judgment to keep these over-abused drugs out of the wrong hands. It gives me hope that
there are some wise people like her controlling the drugs that go out to patients.





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Interview Questions:
Your credentials and place of employment:
How did you get into this field?
What do you believe the role of your organization is in working with individuals who
have drug problems?
Do you believe a lot of the customers who come to your pharmacy are addicted to
prescription pills?
What are some of the most addictive types of pharmaceuticals (in your opinion, or that
you see most often)?
What are some drug trends you have observed?
Would you say there are certain characteristics for someone you would assume is
addicted?
What do you do when you are suspicious of this individual?
What is your attitude and beliefs towards addicted individuals?
Is there anything you think would make a difference in working with these individuals?
Any suggestions on preventing addiction to pharmaceuticals or other types of drugs?
















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References
Narconon, . "Prescription Drugs." Narconon International. Narconon International, n.d. Web. 5
Oct 2013. <http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/prescription-drugs.html>.
NIDA, . "Prescription Drugs." National Institute on Drug Abuse. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Oct 2013.
<http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/prescription-drugs>.