Drug Diversion - Pharmaceutical Diversion

Pharmaceutical Diversion

Is the practice of obtaining drugs at a pharmaceutical level. Singer points out that when illegal drugs become expensive at the consumer's level (like heroin), they look for alternative ways of acquiring alternate drugs. For example, in India, when the street price of heroin rises it is replaced with over-the-counter drugs like buprenorphine (Tidigesic), dextropropoxyphene (Proxyvon), and diazepam (Valium). Pharmaceutical diversion is not only happening in developed countries " (it is) being experienced in developing countries (as well) were poverty and ready access to drugs of addiction collide."

According to the United States Department of Justice, "Most pharmaceuticals abused in the United States are diverted by doctor shopping, forged prescriptions, theft and, increasingly, via the Internet."

"To reduce the occurrence of pharmaceutical diversion by doctor shopping and prescription fraud," the US Department of Justice and "21 states have established prescription monitoring programs (PMPs) that facilitate the collection, analysis, and reporting of information regarding pharmaceutical drug prescriptions."