Police arrested an 18-year-old Pelham man as part of an ongoing effort to halt the use and sale of prescription drugs, particularly OxyContin, in the community.

Krystopher Draper, 18, of Pelham was pulled over on Sherburne Road on Thursday, July 17, at around 2 p.m. by detectives investigating several individuals believed to be consuming and selling the drug, said Pelham police Sgt. Gary Fisher.

Draper, who also had a warrant out for stealing a check and cashing it in Pelham, has been charged with possession of OxyContin and possession of forged writings, both Class A felonies, and a misdemeanor count of drug possession in a motor vehicle.

Fisher said Draper had one OxyContin tablet on him at the time of his arrest. He added detectives watched Draper enter his vehicle and drive away before pulling him over, and already knew who he was. He could not say whether Draper was leaving his home.

According to Fisher, Draper stole a check from a Nashua business in November 2007 and cashed it at a Citizens Bank in Pelham. Officers investigating that case were able to get a photo of him, leading them to look into the OxyContin use.

Fisher said Draper’s arrest marks the third in a lengthy investigation into the drug’s continually growing use in the community. He added there would be more arrests forthcoming as the investigation reveals new individuals who may be involved with the drug. Police do not suspect a drug ring at this point, Fisher said.

“It’s a very prevalent drug. It’s easily obtained, and it’s highly abused,” Fisher said. “I think it’s becoming a drug of choice.”

OxyContin, often referred to as “the poor man’s heroine,” is a member of the opioid group of prescription drugs, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

OxyContin is a time-released form of the narcotic oxycodone, and is generally prescribed as a last resort for patients who are in severe pain every day. It is meant to be ingested as a whole tablet to get the time-released effect, but abusers of the drug typically chew up the tablet. Many also crush it up and snort it, or dissolve the powder in water and inject it.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, those who take OxyContin according to their doctor’s orders do not usually get any euphoric affect out of it, and can avoid becoming addicted to it because their pain absorbs most of that effect.

However, those who chew, snort, or mainline the drug to release the narcotic quicker and who have no pain to cure can become very addicted to the drug in a short amount of time.