Southern West Virginia has a drug problem, and it may not be what you think.

When we think of illegal drug use, we tend to think of drugs like marijuana, cocaine, crack or meth. But area police say the worst drug problem our region faces is the one concerning the illegal use of prescription medication.

According to medical sources cited in a recent series reported by The Register-Herald, users are hooked one of two ways. They start out with an injury or a legitimate pain problem, receive a pain-killing prescription for it, and then find themselves dependent on the drug long after it’s no longer useful. Others start taking pills recreationally; soon they find they’re addicted.

Some of these addicts, according to police, turn to crime to support their drug habits. They break in to pharmacies and homes in search of more pills. Or, in search of money to buy more drugs, they rob people. They feign illness and pain with hope they’ll receive medication from health care professionals. They’ve threatened doctors to fill prescriptions. And they’ve spent hours trying to find a doctor who will buy their story or one who simply wants them to go away badly enough to write a prescription.

Physicians are wise to the practice and must continue to turn away these drug-seekers.

Though the use of any illegal drug is cause for concern, our region is seeing a significant increase in crimes related to the illegal use of prescription drugs. In other words, it is not the marijuana user who destroys property and threatens lives in search of his drug or the means by which to obtain it. It is the pill user — the pillbilly, as some have called him — who is desperate enough to compound his drug crime with another one.

They are hurting not only themselves, but our society. So what’s to be done?

Incarceration? Raleigh County Sheriff Steve Tanner says that may be the answer for the pill users who commit other crimes. And some medical professionals say jail has been a life-saver for some.

On the other hand, they argue that there can be no rehabilitation unless and until a user is willing to make a lifestyle change, often one that involves leaving old friends behind.

Still, once an addict decides to quit and make the necessary changes, rehabilitation can be effective. The problem is that rehabilitation is expensive.

Whether it’s covered by the state or by the individual in need, rehabilitation is costly. Unfortunately, it also appears to be necessary. Until funding is available — and we hope it will be one day — the best we can do is educate.

It’s never too early to teach our children about the dangers of drugs. And when we do, we must remember that times have changed. They need to learn that bad drugs can come in all sorts of forms — even in bottles with doctors’ names on them.