Don't let drug abuse end your career

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Jeffrey A. Snyder
  • 60th Diagnostic and Therapeutics Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  I read in the newspaper recently that American cities and counties are grappling with methamphetamine abuse. Maybe you saw it too; Meth addiction in some parts of our country is so prevalent that the community fabric is being ripped apart, socially and economically.

Parents and children are being consumed by the power of drug addiction, and ultimately, its consequences -- leaving behind broken families.

Backyard and kitchen "meth labs" are especially prevalent in the Midwest and the chemicals required to make it are contaminating the local environment while the illicit drug is trapping many addicts.

As our American society wrestles with drug abuse, the military has smartly instituted policies and procedures to control, if not eliminate, inappropriate use and abuse of drugs. Still the facts are not encouraging. The number of Air Force drug cases reported by the Office of Special Investigations has remained steady, but there has been an increase in cases involving controlled prescription drugs at Travis.

In 2007, 12 drug-related Article 15's were administered with 75 percent of these for misuse of controlled prescription drugs. Already in 2008, one courts-martial resulting in confinement and a bad conduct discharge related to controlled prescription drug abuse has concluded.

These drug cases included illegal drugs like marijuana and methamphetamine as well as the controlled prescription drug, Percocet. Controlled prescription drugs require strict management by the pharmaceutical industry including exact daily inventory counts by Air Force pharmacies and hospitals.

Additionally, prescription vials have a bright red or yellow auxiliary label that reads, "Caution: Federal law prohibits the transfer of this drug to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed." This label alerts the patient and others that if someone else takes their prescription they have violated federal law and are subject to prosecution.

If you as an Air Force member take a controlled prescription like Percocet for anything other than originally prescribed for, then you are subject to punishment under Article 112a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
For example: a service member is prescribed Percocet for dental pain. After a few days, they have no more pain, but keep the leftover prescription for later use. If they take it for an undiagnosed symptom -- or even a new dental pain -- they have violated federal law. They are now subject to the UCMJ and could suffer career-ending consequences.

What should you do with the leftover prescription? In the state of California, the appropriate way to handle leftover prescription medicine is:
1.) Remove and destroy all identifying personal information (prescription label) from the medication container or use a marker and black out personal information, and;

2.) Crush solid medications or dissolve them in water -- this applies for liquid medications as well. Mix with kitty litter or sawdust or any material that absorbs the dissolved medication, making it less appealing for pets or children to eat. Then place the contents in a sealed plastic bag before disposing in the trash.

Because of the potential for diversion or abuse, controlled drugs like Percocet should still be flushed. Otherwise, it is no longer appropriate to flush medications down the toilet because it contaminates our water supply and negatively impacts our environment.

In my 25 years of pharmacy practice -- both in the civilian sector and in the Air Force -- I have identified numerous drug cases and provided testimony at several others. Violators ranged from first-term Airmen, career and retired Air Force members. Be mindful that loss of all retirement benefits, confinement and discharge with a federal conviction can result. Piecing one's life back together after facing the consequences is difficult.

Simply stated, don't do illicit drugs. Take your prescription exactly as prescribed and toss the remainder when done. We can't -- and we won't -- let drug abuse go unchecked in our Air Force. The impact upon our mission and its members is untenable.