Nassau security summit aims at pharmacists

Nassau County will hold a security summit next month to help local pharmacists protect themselves from robbers desperate for pain pills.

The Feb. 7 event at Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage is sponsored by the Nassau Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Prevention Task Force, the Long Island Pharmacy Crimes Task Force and InfraGard, an FBI public-private partnership.

The summit will come less than six weeks after a botched pharmacy robbery in Seaford in which a federal agent and the robbery suspect were killed.

"We have felt firsthand the devastating effects of prescription drug abuse and will therefore take the lead in addressing this epidemic by implementing safety, awareness and educational initiatives for the public as well as local pharmacists," Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said.

District Attorney Kathleen Rice will attend the summit and discuss the pending prosecutions of doctors and pharmacists who are accused of illegally dispensing prescription drugs.

"It is incumbent upon law enforcement to provide whatever training, advice and support we can to pharmacists and their employees," Rice said.

The summit will feature a presentation by Purdue Pharma, maker of the painkiller OxyContin, that focuses on prescription drug identification, counterfeiting and theft, company officials said.

The drugmaker also will host security training for pharmacists March 8 at the Morrelly Center.