A Columbia County inmate discovers his prescription drugs are being stolen by the woman responsible for dispensing them. A female employee at the Columbia Correctional Institution has been arrested for stealing Methadone from at least one inmate.

The drug is used to help heroin addicts kick the habit. It can also be prescribed as a painkiller. The Columbia County Sheriff's Department says Methadone and other prescription drugs are starting to give them the same problems as street drugs.

Police say a 28-year-old Middleton man died from a Methadone overdose in April. It's a drug Columbia County knows all too well.

"The city of Portage within the last year has had a methadone overdose death, where liquid methadone was actually coming from a Methodone clinic in the city of Madison," says Lt. Wayne Smith of Columbia County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators say 24-year-old Mary Gilmore wanted the drug so much, she was willing to steal from the inmates she cared for.

"He had a legitimate prescription from a physician and was supposed to be getting it at set times," says Lt. Smith. "Ms. Gilmore was taking some Methadone from that inmate's prescription for herself."

It is a growing trend: prescription drugs being used and traded like street drugs.

"At least in Columbia County, it's becoming more rare to catch somebody with a sole illegal substance," says Lt. Smith. "They'll have typically a variety and what would otherwise be a legal substance if you held a valid prescription for it."

Some are obtaining them through doctor shopping, or getting multiple prescriptions for the same drug from different doctors. Officers say it's often tough to spot someone who's abusing an otherwise legal prescription.

"It's extremely difficult to prove if you catch them with one pill bottle," says Lt. Smith. "It looks like they are supposed to have it, without more investigation or more knowledge you don't necessarily know that that's the case."

Mary Gilmore was fired from her position at the prison and charged with two counts of felony possession and a misdemeanor for theft. Right now, she's out on a $5,000 signature bond. She is scheduled to appear in court in July.