The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has reported that armed robberies of pharmacies across the nation increased 51% between 2006 and 2010.  According to DEA spokesperson Rusty Payne, addiction to prescription drugs like DEA has fueled the surge in drug store crimes.  The desire to obtain drugs by people who are addicted and by drug dealers who traffic in black market pharmaceuticals has brought violent crime to the corner drug store.  In some cases, pharmacists are arming themselves with guns.

MSNBC reports that pharmacy thieves are overwhelmingly targeting oxycodone painkillers like OxyContin and Roxicodone and hydrocone-based pain pills like Vicodin and Norco.  Both oxycodone and hydrocodone are highly addictive.
Although most drug store robbers don’t hurt anyone during the commission of their crime, the risk of violence seems to be increasing.  These are some of the more shocking pharmacy crimes of …