Elderly sell pain pills for cash

[Jade Tigress]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/12/elderly.dealers.ap/index.html

The woman -- who spent two days in jail after her arrest last December -- is among a growing number of Kentucky senior citizens charged in a crackdown on a crime authorities say is rampant in Appalachia: Elderly people are reselling their painkillers and other medications to addicts.

Elderly people "may be looking for a way to bring in a little extra money," said Erin Artigiani, deputy director of the University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research. "We haven't heard a lot about senior citizens being a source of those drugs. We know college students do this. It's not much of a stretch to think that seniors could do it, too."

"They justify it because they're having a hard time financially," he said. "Left to ourselves, we can justify anything, but they're really part of the problem."

However, Dan Smoot, a former state police drug detective who heads the task force, said the elderly people being charged are not necessarily struggling to put food on the table.


"Most of the elderly we arrest are merely continuing a family tradition," he said. "It has been part of their culture for a long time."

I just don't know about this. I have a hard time believing an 80-year-old woman is just "carrying on a family tradition of drug dealing that has been part of their culture for a long time."

Seems more like desperate measures for desperate people. It's still illegal. So how do you handle a situation like this? I can't see throwing an elderly person in jail for 10 years for selling a painkiller. What these people need is help.

 

[Henderson]

Gonna play both sides here...look out!

If this 80-yr old woman's grandson was selling his grandmother's painkillers, we'd all want to throw his butt in jail. Why do we view it differently just because she has been alive so much longer than the rest of us? Is the crime not the same?

However, if we are talking about extreme economic hardship in a depressed area, I'd sell them too if I was 80 and couldn't afford food, heat, etc.

Respects,

Frank

 

[Jade Tigress]

Right. That's what makes it so hard. It's not right. It's illegal. If it were her 18 year old grandson it would be different. But I think what makes it different is the view on hardship. Is is a matter of affording food, heat, electricity? If the elderly are selling their own pain pills they are sacrificing one comfort for what they consider to be another, more necessary comfort. In the case of a youth stealing and selling their grandparents medication, it's a whole different story.

Indeed a complicated conundrum.

 

[arnisador]

Yes, desperate measures for desperate people indeed. Clearly they must be punished for selling prescription medicines; they are contributing to a drug problem for those to whom they sell it, in many cases. But there are larger issues of the cost of medication and health care for the elderly, too. Some peopel wil always try to game the system, but when enough people short-change themselves on medications in order to sell them for cash, it's a signal of a bigger problem.

 

[terryl965]

Yes a crime has been done they must be dealt with just like any ther criminals.
Terry

 

[Jade Tigress]

Yes a crime has been done they must be dealt with just like any ther criminals.
Terry

True. Just seems like a bigger issue at the core and like so many "hardcore" criminals get nothing but a wrist slap. I don't know what to make of it personally. Wrong is wrong. You can't get into situation ethics because an argument could be made for every situation. I think a deeper look needs to be taken by the authorities into the causes for the increasing phenomenon of the elderly selling their pain meds in that particular area.

 

[terryl965]

True. Just seems like a bigger issue at the core and like so many "hardcore" criminals get nothing but a wrist slap. I don't know what to make of it personally. Wrong is wrong. You can't get into situation ethics because an argument could be made for every situation. I think a deeper look needs to be taken by the authorities into the causes for the increasing phenomenon of the elderly selling their pain meds in that particular area.

I's sad when we as a civilize coutry have to have our elderly selling there prescription to make ends meet. But a crime is a crime. If they had money they would be out in 15 minutes and a slap on the wrist like you said.Soory state we are in.
terry

 

[Kreth]

If they had money they would be out in 15 minutes and a slap on the wrist like you said.

I'm pretty much disgusted with our justice system. In our local paper today, a man who is already is prison serving an 8-year sentence for second-degree aggravated sexual abuse, first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child and endangering the welfare of a child; entered Alford pleas to first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to 9 years, to run concurrently with his existing sentence! To make things worse, this is his first of 5 trials for allegedly sexually assaulting 5 different girls.
Original article here.

 

[Jade Tigress]

I'm pretty much disgusted with our justice system. In our local paper today, a man who is already is prison serving an 8-year sentence for second-degree aggravated sexual abuse, first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child and endangering the welfare of a child; entered Alford pleas to first-degree rape, first-degree sexual abuse, first-degree criminal sexual act, second-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child and was sentenced to 9 years, to run concurrently with his existing sentence! To make things worse, this is his first of 5 trials for allegedly sexually assaulting 5 different girls.
Original article here.

All I can is, Oh. My. God.

 

[arnisador]

If they accepted an Alford plea, it was probably all negotiated in advance, I imagine.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

True. Just seems like a bigger issue at the core and like so many "hardcore" criminals get nothing but a wrist slap. I don't know what to make of it personally. Wrong is wrong. You can't get into situation ethics because an argument could be made for every situation. I think a deeper look needs to be taken by the authorities into the causes for the increasing phenomenon of the elderly selling their pain meds in that particular area.

I think that there are mitigating circumstances for those truly selling their own pills to make ends meet. Certainly they must be stopped; however, recognizing that a person with few options may be pushed to extremes is not, IMO, situational ethics. It doesn't make it "unwrong" - just mitigated in my view.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

Yes a crime has been done they must be dealt with just like any ther criminals.
Terry

I think that there is a difference between legalism and justice. It would not be just, IMO, to incarcerate an 80 year old who is so desperate for necessities (if this really is the case), or to treat him and her with anywhere near the same harshness that you would "any other criminal".

 

[Ceicei]

On the other hand, many criminals know that they can get some medical treatment in jail/prison that they otherwise could not from the outside. Would an elderly person who ordinarily could not afford to pay for medical treatment upon their fixed budget then resort to that behavior to get their health needs met? (We know that Medicaid/Medicare may cover for much, but not all, of the medical expenses. The coverage are changing in 2006; however, that is a separate issue.)

- Ceicei

 

[Ping898]

If you are alone and mostly house bound, going to prison maybe a step up for you.....

 

[sgtmac_46]

Right. That's what makes it so hard. It's not right. It's illegal. If it were her 18 year old grandson it would be different. But I think what makes it different is the view on hardship. Is is a matter of affording food, heat, electricity? If the elderly are selling their own pain pills they are sacrificing one comfort for what they consider to be another, more necessary comfort. In the case of a youth stealing and selling their grandparents medication, it's a whole different story.

Indeed a complicated conundrum.

I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that she was selling Oxycontin. In some parts of the country, they sell for as much as $80.00 a pill on the market. When cut up and injected, it has the same effect as heroin. I think this woman is responding to some strong market forces. I suppose it would be tempting if you had a commodity worth that much coming in.

The solution to this problem is cutting off this woman's supply. Obviously she's getting to many if she can afford to spare some to sell. If she doesn't need them, stopping giving them. If she doesn't need all she's got, stop giving her so many. This situation, an 80 year old woman, needs to be treated as a social and medical problem. I see no need to put an 80 year old woman in jail.

And yes, i'd gladly stick an 18 year old grandson in jail for the same offense. Double standard? Maybe, but there are far different dynamics involved.

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that she was selling Oxycontin. In some parts of the country, they sell for as much as $80.00 a pill on the market. When cut up and injected, it has the same effect as heroin. I think this woman is responding to some strong market forces. I suppose it would be tempting if you had a commodity worth that much coming in.

The solution to this problem is cutting off this woman's supply. Obviously she's getting to many if she can afford to spare some to sell. If she doesn't need them, stopping giving them. If she doesn't need all she's got, stop giving her so many. This situation, an 80 year old woman, needs to be treated as a social and medical problem. I see no need to put an 80 year old woman in jail.

And yes, i'd gladly stick an 18 year old grandson in jail for the same offense. Double standard? Maybe, but there are far different dynamics involved.

I think you came up with the best solution offered in this thread. Cutting off her supply is the best method of dealing with the problem - just, yet merciful.

 

[Phoenix44]

I agree. They must be punished. I think they should be thrown in jail where they can get a bed, three squares, and free health care, which maybe if they'd had in the first place, they wouldn't be breaking the law selling their meds.

 

[sgtmac_46]

I agree. They must be punished. I think they should be thrown in jail where they can get a bed, three squares, and free health care, which maybe if they'd had in the first place, they wouldn't be breaking the law selling their meds.

If you're referring to the 18 year old grandson, it's been my experience that he's selling the meds he steals because he got himself addicted to them, and won't work, but would rather victimize grandma.

 

[Phoenix44]

No, actually, I was referring to the title of the thread: "Elderly sell pain pills for cash."

 

[sgtmac_46]

No, actually, I was referring to the title of the thread: "Elderly sell pain pills for cash."

Ah, context. It's clear now.