Illicit Prescriptions for Disaster

Orange County officials are readying a needed campaign against clinics that illegally sell prescription drugs. They also appear to be exercising proper care in reviewing facilities operating largely in the Latino community.

After a back-room dispensary in a Tustin toy store provided an 18-month-old girl with an injection of what the shopkeeper said was penicillin last month, the baby died. A year ago, a 13-month-old boy in Santa Ana died after being injected five times by an unlicensed practitioner.

Last year’s death prompted the formation of the Santa Ana Safe Medicine Coalition, which included health officials who campaigned against the dangers of unlicensed medical providers and illegal drugs.

County officials have begun assembling a similar task force to preach that needed message in a wider area. But Supervisor Charles V. Smith, who is helping form the group, is right to say that officials should not want to send police officers “on a sweep of the Hispanic community.”

Illegal clinics should be shut down, but immigrants also need to be told that free or low-cost medical care is available, without regard to an ill person’s citizenship status. Some drugs for which a prescription is required in the United States are available over the counter in Mexico, and those searching for help for an ailment may not know the difference in laws or the dangers of unlicensed drugs.

Many immigrants also distrust police and other government officials, an unfortunate legacy of abuse or corruption in their native countries. Tustin police said they were having difficulty getting cooperation in their investigation of the 18-month-old girl’s death, perhaps due to distrust of the police or perhaps due to sympathy for employees of the toy store where the injection was given.

Santa Ana police can help with the new task force because of their experience last year in cracking down on illegal sales of prescription drugs after the death of the infant. Publicizing the risks of illegal drugs and injections and the availability of free or low-cost treatment at licensed clinics can help prevent recurrences of the tragedies. Phony physicians, fake medical clinics and illegally dispensed medicine are threats to public health.