Case highlights Monterey County’s prescription drug abuse problem

A jury found a 40-year-old woman guilty of forging a prescription. The case highlights the growing problem of prescription drug abuse in Monterey County.

According to the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, drug-related deaths now exceed car-related deaths in the county.

Under the Prescribe Safe initiative in Monterey County, law enforcement, hospitals, doctors and the D.A.’s office are working together to promote safe and effective pain management.

In this case, the D.A.’s office said Mary Grace Royster went into the ER at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula in July 2015 for back pain. Royster was referred to a specialist who wrote her a prescription for a low dose of Percocet. The D.A.’s office said Royster went directly to a pharmacy and attempted to fill the prescription with an altered one.

The pharmacist noticed and called 911. Royster faces a maximum sentence of one year in the county jail.