Lawmaker pushes for tough penalties against pharmacy robberies
WTOV – An Ohio lawmaker is pushing Congress to make tougher laws for people who rob pharmacies for prescription drugs.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he feels this action is necessary after the rise in pharmacy robberies across the state in recent months.
For a Steubenville pharmacy, that kind of tough punishment is very welcome, especially since Market Street Pharmacy owner Susan Adams was herself a victim of an armed robbery at a different pharmacy about five years ago.
“It was very scary. It was an armed robbery, and it was for prescription drugs,” said Adams. “Every pharmacy robbery that I’ve read about or seen is focused on the perpetrators getting drugs.”
Statewide, those kinds of incidents are climbing. Locally, several pharmacies were robbed this month, and that’s why Brown is pushing congress to do something about it.
“We want pharmacists to know they can practice their trade safely and a little bit less expensively,” said Brown. “The public should be protected too from these kinds of robberies.”
