When it comes to the most serious problem plaguing the county, all law enforcement officials agree — prescription pill abuse is the most pervasive.

As Waynesville Police Chief Bill Hollingsed puts it, prescription pills are “equal opportunity addictors.”

It’s a drug that affects everyone — rich, poor, young and old.

“We’ve had kids as young as 12 let us know that they’re illegally taking prescription drugs, and then we’ve had people in their 80s out doctor shopping because they’re addicted to pain killers,” he said.

For some, addiction comes from recreational use. For others, it can be a result of years of using after a medical condition and then finding they are entangled in a web of addiction.

That’s because opiates act like an endorphin to the brain, and when a person addicted to the ...