Walgreens Pharmacist, Addicted to Pain Meds, Admits to Stealing Painkillers

St. Louis County Police said a Walgreens investigation revealed a Maryland Heights woman was stealing hydrocodone and oxycodone.

A pharmacist faces criminal charges for stealing hydrocodone and oxycodone from work. Ala Al-Lozi, 28, of the 12800 block of Polo Parc Drive in Maryland Heights, was charged Feb. 7 with stealing a controlled substance. St. Louis County Police said a Walgreens internal investigation revealed Al-Lozi stole painkillers from various Walgreen stores where she worked from December 2010 through December 2012. Investigators confronted Al-Lozi at the end of her shift Dec. 4 at the Walgreens in Spanish Lake at 12098 Lusher Avenue. She admitted the thefts and said she had stolen 80 hydrocodone pills on that shift. The pills were in her pocket. Al-Lozi told police she began stealing painkillers for her own use after becoming addicted to them during an…

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The Virtual Life

Lucky for Missouri? Changes to Federal Law Pave the Way for Online Lottery Sales

Missouri and 43 other states are considering how to proceed now that the government is looking at an old law in a new way.

It's a fantasy many of us have indulged in: Imaging what we would do if we were to strike it rich overnight with a big lottery win.  I'll own up to doing so. I've gone so far as to tell friends and co-workers I would not be one of those folks you read about who continue clocking in a work every day. Not me. If I won the lottery, I'd be traveling the world first class as soon as my lump sum check arrived. No annual payments for me! Problem is, I don't buy lottery tickets. As I purchase my groceries or fill up my tank at the gas station, I just don't think about it. The gift of gaming? So, what if a person could buy lottery tickets online? Would I be more likely to work these purchases into my routine if I could simply log on to a website …

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Heroin a Growing Problem in St. Louis County

St. Louis County Police and drug treatment professionals were in Maryland Heights to talk about heroin's dangers Thursday night.

St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch once talked with a young woman arrested for buying heroin. She was from Ballwin, and told Finch she got hooked because she was battling depression. The first time she tried it, according to Fitch, she got a high that she hasn’t been able to achieve since. According to a heroin addiction website, one of the drug's most insidious qualities is that is sends the addict on a quest to repeat that first high, usually a fruitless journey. Heroin addiction isn’t a light switch you can turn off and on, Fitch told a crowded audience at Pattonville High School Thursday night. Fitch was part of a public forum about heroin use among teens. The forum featured St. Louis County Police, the National Council on …

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