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Whit Johnson Reporting You are probably aware of the street demand for the painkiller Oxycontin. Criminals threaten pharmacists, and apparently more often.
A robbery at Jolley's Pharmacy in Salt Lake City is the most recent.
Authorities have two theories. The first is simple economics. A single Oxycontin pill costs around 4-and-a-half dollars, but can sell on the streets for as much as 80 bucks.
The second is people are so addicted to this stuff, they're willing to do almost anything to get it.
The demand for Oxycontin on the streets is putting local pharmacies under attack.
Robyn Howe / Pharmacist: "I wasn't really nervous until I noticed other customers in the room and then you start to worry about other people's safety."
The latest victim is Jolley's Corner Pharmacy in Salt Lake City, which was robbed this afternoon.
Robyn Howe / Pharmacist: "She handed a yellow note with typed print on it saying, 'Give us all of your Oxycontin and hurry and no one will get hurt.'"
She complied and the robber got away, but they're not alone. A month ago it was the Apothecary Shoppe. An Albertson's Savon was hit twice in less than a week.
In the past two months, Oxycontin was stolen form nearly ten pharmacies in and around the Salt Lake area.
Sgt. Kevin Matthews / Salt Lake County Sheriff's Narcotics Officer: "Unlike normal designer drugs, these drugs will last for ten or twelve hours. A lot of these abusers like that."
Sgt. Kevin Matthews is the supervisor for the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Narcotics Unit. He says Oxycontin has only been on the streets for about eight years, but it's become a gateway for other dangerous drugs.
Sgt. Kevin Matthews / (Narcotics) S.L. County Sheriff's Office: "Oxycontin is basically an opiate and that's the same component that's found in heroin. Some of the abusers are finding out that they're getting addicted to Oxycontin, but they can get the heroin on the street much cheaper."
And so the trend continues. More people addicted, more pharmacies robbed, and at least for now, no end in site.
Robyn Howe / Pharmacist: "Honestly with the rash of robberies that has been going on, I wasn't necessarily surprised."
The company that makes Oxycontin is so fed up with these robberies that they're offering a one-thousand dollar reward for anyone who can help lead to an arrest.
If you have any information, you're asked to call Utah Crime Solvers at 800-972-2255.
