New Philadelphia Times Reporter – Even if they don’t abuse drugs themselves, practically everyone feels the impact of drug-related crime, area authorities contend.

Nationally, the theft of prescription drugs from delivery trucks and warehouses is up 350 percent and armed robberies of pharmacies is at an all-time high, according to U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon Lake, who has introduced federal legislation calling for increasing sentences and giving law-enforcement more tools to fight drug-theft rings.

Officials in Ohio also are pushing tougher legislation as unintentional drug overdoses surpassed motor vehicle crashes and suicide as the leading cause of injury death statewide. Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services’ statistics show that opiates caused nearly 40 percent of Ohio’s about 1,400 overdose deaths in 2009.

Tuscarawas County Sheriff Walt Wilson said there have been thefts from several pharmacies in the county over the years.

http://www.timesreporter.com/news/x230269017/Prescription-drug-crimes-deaths-soar