Detective Eric Reddick, a four-year member of Enid Police Department's Narcotics Unit, said he has seen a steady increase in the number of drug diversion cases in Enid, a trend in step with a nationwide movement.

"People abuse prescription pills because they are a scheduled narcotic and are easily obtainable," Reddick said. "It's the most easily obtained narcotic."

Capt. Dean Grassino said narcotics officers work an average of one drug diversion case a week. It is called diversion because the drugs are not being used for their intended purpose.

Reddick said doctor shopping is the most effective form of drug diversion for drug users "because doctors don't know who each patient is seeing."

He said most drug-seekers will visit multiple doctors or emergency rooms and list symptoms difficult to diagnose but commonly treated with pain medications.

"Almost all of our crimes are doctor shopping or prescription fraud," Reddick said.

Another method drug seekers use is theft.

Sgt. Rick Tanner said officers investigating burglaries often see medicine cabinets with narcotics missing.

"They're leaving the antibiotics," he said. "They know what they're looking for."

One of the first drug diversion cases Reddick worked involved a woman who employed several methods of drug diversion.

He said the woman went to doctors complaining of back pain to obtain a prescription for pain medication.

"She used family doctors in town, and she also visited both emergency rooms," Reddick said.

During one visit, the woman was prescribed 10 Lortabs with no refills. But the woman altered the prescription to receive 40 pills and six refills.

"She filled the prescription, and the next day goes back and gets another 40 pills," Reddick said.

During another pharmacy visit, the woman had prescriptions for 270 pills filled at one time.

"The street value of some of these diverted drugs is about $10 a milligram," Reddick said. "People are abusing the pills as well as selling them for profit."

According to Federal Drug Administration, the most commonly abused prescription medicines are opioids, central nervous system depressants and central nervous system stimulants.

Opioids, also known as narcotic analgesics, are used to treat pain and are the most commonly abused prescription drug. Examples of opioids include morphine, codeine, OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin (hydrocodone) and Demerol.