Certain prescription drugs are now included in Oklahoma’s drug trafficking laws.
State Mental Health and Substance Abuse Commissioner Terri White said prescription drug abuse is an epidemic.
"And it's one that we have to get a handle on," White said. "In fact, when we look at our statistics, Tulsa County has the highest rate of prescription drug overdose death of any county in our state, but they have the 18th-highest overdose death rate of any county in the United States.
As of Nov. 1, morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and benzodiazepines join cocaine, meth and others on the list of substances under the state's drug trafficking laws. Illegally distributing them is punishable by a fine of $100,000 to $500,000.
You’d have to distribute much larger quantities than a typical prescription to get in trouble; however, White said the drugs are even over-prescribed.
"We have far too many being pushed out legally into the supply, where then a person taking them legally can become addicted, or they can be diverted into the hands of someone who then becomes addicted or is already addicted," White said.
For every 100 Oklahomans, doctors write 128 painkiller prescriptions a year.
