KENNESAW - Just after midnight on Feb. 22, two men and a woman in a pickup truck were stopped for an obstructed license plate by a Kennesaw police officer on Shiloh Road at Ayers Drive. During a vehicle search, the officer discovered eight bottles of prescription painkillers, nearly $4,000 in cash and pain-clinic appointment cards. The truck's 35-year-old owner told Officer Adam Hainline that the drugs - includeing Oxycodone, Meloxicam, Indomethacin, Phentermine and Ciprofloxacin, all of which prescribed to him - were to treat his pain from a car accident years ago, according to the police report, and that the three were traveling from Kentucky to Florida for vacation. Hainline wrote a warning for an obstructed license plate and released the trio.

But cases like this one involving prescription painkillers are relatively common, authorities say. And the abuse of prescription drugs now ranks second, behind marijuana, as the nation's most prevalent illegal drug problem, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In Kennesaw alone, the number of arrests for prescription or over-the-counter drug abuse jumped by 15 percent in one year, city police said. In 2008, such abuse accounted for 13 percent of all drug arrests. By 2009, it was 28 percent, police said.

And traffic stops are usually when police discover such abuse, Kennesaw Lt. Craig Graydon said.

"We see local users, but we're actually encountering a lot more people passing through, generally coming from Ohio and Kentucky, traveling to Florida to purchase the medicine," Graydon said.

Unlike Georgia, states such as Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee have systems to monitor prescriptions. In Florida, there is an abundance of so-called "doc in a box" clinics that casually prescribe medicines and sometimes fill the prescriptions.

That explains the traffic, and arrests in Georgia, said Rick Allen, deputy director of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency. Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic throughout Georgia, Allen said.

Many "pain clinics" are owned by businessmen and not doctors, Allen said.

Often, the clinic owners find any doctor they can get to prescribe medication. As long as the doctor is legitimate, it's legal, Allen said.

As long as the doctor and prescription is legitimate, it's legal, Allen said. Law enforcement can only look out for forged prescriptions and investigate if there is a suspicion someone is going to more than one doctor for drugs, he said.

In Kennesaw, a clinic called "Pain Express" recently opened on Cherokee Street. The business' Web site stated that it offers pain management to relieve chronic pain and its effect on a person's job, relationships and daily life. A message for the business' doctor was not returned by press time Thursday.

Hydrocodone, a pain reliever, is the number-one drug of abuse in Georgia, Allen said. Of 25 forged prescriptions, 20 of them would likely be for hydrocodone, which sells for about $10 a tablet, he said.

Other drugs such as, alprazolam, which is sold under the brand name Xanax, methadone, and oxycodone are among the most prevalent found in drug overdose-related deaths in Georgia, according to the GDNA.

"If they can't get heroine, they know they can get these drugs," Allen said.

Chief Magistrate Court Judge Frank Cox presides over the Cobb Drug Court, which hears cases of arrests made by the Marietta-Cobb-Smyrna drug squad. MCS makes about 85 percent of the drug arrests in Cobb.

Most cases involve illegal drugs like marijuana and cocaine, Cox said. But prescription forgery has been a growing crime for a number of years, he said.

Cox generally refers addicts who are found guilty - and who ask for help - to treatment.

"Sending them to prison really doesn't solve the problem," Cox said. "Unless you can get them treated, they are not going to stop doing the same thing over and over again."

And the problem is not limited to adults. Just this week, at least three Marietta High School students were suspended for sharing Xanax tablets at a school-related event. Law enforcement officials say teenagers are some of the most frequent offenders.

The Ridgeview Institute on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna, is one place where both youths and adults are treated for addictions, including prescription abuse.

Ridgeview, a residential program, treats people age 11 and up for addictions, and has about 300 patients - most of them from Cobb - at any given time. Most insurance companies cover part or all of treatment at Ridgeview, according to the institute.

Incoming patients are detoxicated, then monitored while hospitalized, and finally go through a 12-step recovery program similar to Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dr. Arthur Trotzky is a therapist in Ridgeview's recovering professionals program, where he treats a variety of people, from airplane pilots and lawyers to doctors.

The main sign of prescription drug addiction is major change in behavior, such as a person becoming too tired or too emotionally high, Trotzky said. In children, signs include a change in friends or mood.

But, prescription drug addicts are very good at hiding their addiction, said Trotzky. For example, if an addict is taking a depressant drug like benzodiazepine - commonly used to treat insomnia - he or she might use the excuse that work has made them tired.

"Usually, addicts will be able to hide it or lie about it," Trotzky said.

Americans in large numbers turn to medication to deal with their problems, he said.

"What we do here is have them identify feelings," Trotzky said. "If I'm angry, instead of taking a sedative, I use the 12-step principles to deal with my anger. If I am fearful, instead of taking a Xanax or other medication, to deal with my anxiety or fear, I identify, talk about it in a group and use the 12-step program."

Trotzky said recovery comes down to learning how to cope without turning to drugs. Once patients leave Ridgeview, they're often sent to after-care programs.

No one is ever completely cured, he said, people must learn to deal with their problems on a day-to-day basis.

"Alone, you can't do it," he said.

Information on prescription drug abuse treatment can be found on the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities' Web site at www.mhddad.dhr.georgia.gov. For the Georgia crisis and access line - available 24 hours, 7 days a week - call 1-800-715-4225.

Those who are regularly taking more prescription drugs than they’re supposed to need to get into a drug abuse treatment program.

Key phrase: drug abuse treatment