New York authorities are often quick to charge people with illegal possession or sale of Oxycontin, Vicodin and other prescription drugs. Earlier this month, the state attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, asserted that an epidemic of narcotic painkillers and other prescription drugs is gripping New York State.

If the AG is correct, it would make sense to start allocating sufficient public health resources to address the issue. NYC drug possession defense attorneys are very aware of the problem of trying to use the criminal law as a blunt instrument to solve a problem that has such clear implications for public health.

In other words, authorities have tunnel vision if they don't realize that doctors and pharmacies are making the pill-popping possible. It isn't only individual users who are driving the high number of prescriptions for painkillers and other narcotic drugs.

Jeffrey Reynolds, from the Long Island Council on Drug Dependence, is one of the voices calling for awareness of the public health aspects of the prescription drug problem. "It is among the worst public health crises that Long Island has ever faced," Reynolds told CBS News, "and the body count is increasing by the day."

Hospitalizations due to overdoses are rising rapidly in Nassau and Suffolk counties and throughout the New York area.

Attorney General Schneiderman wants more real-time tracking of prescription purchases, utilizing an online database. Finally, it seems, authorities are beginning to realize that bringing drug charges does not really solve a major public health problem.

Source: "NY Attorney General: 'Prescription Drugs Are Permeating Our Society'," CBS New York, 1-11-12