Prescription drugs weren't looked at as severely as cocaine and crack and heroin. John Sons, supervisor of the sheriff's drug investigation unit.
Pharmaceuticals are the most abused drugs on the street right now.
Friday marked the first time the sheriff's office has rounded up a significant number of prescription drug suspects in one sweep, Sgt. Future sweeps are planned. Abuse of OxyContin, a powerful painkiller legitimately used by cancer patients, has emerged as a growing problem in recent months, he said. Prescription-drug abusers not only hurt themselves but may be ripping off insurance companies that pay for prescriptions, said Butler County Sheriff's Agent Randy Lambert. By late Friday afternoon, deputies had arrested 13 of the 15 suspects wanted on prescription-drug warrants.