Law enforcement officials have a zero tolerance policy for any illegal drug possession or trafficking. Drug related arrests and convictions are on the rise not only in Tampa Bay but across the country. There are a million more arrests today for drug possession than there were 10 years ago. The most common drug arrests are marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA-Ecstasy, Oxycontin, Oxycodone, and Hydrocodone.
A related issue concerns the recent spike in prescription fraud where drug users are obtaining prescription narcotics fraudulently from doctors. A well-publicized case in point was Rush Limbaugh's legal problems concerning his misuse of narcotic drugs.
These are all serious offenses for which incarceration is a very real possibility. The emphasis from the law enforcement point of view is penalizing drug possession and use. Of course, this doesn't address the real problem: treatment for those afflicted with drug dependency.
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