Mom Steals Pain Medications From Dying Daughter For Opioid Addiction

(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

She Now Faces Multiple Charges

A Missouri woman unfortunately went against her own daughter to fuel her drug addiction. Now she’s facing the consequences for stealing pain medications from her terminally ill offspring.

According to USA Today, Carol Ballweg, 46, was charged on Wednesday with four counts of stealing a controlled substance and two counts of abuse of a vulnerable person.

According to the police, Ballweg was the primary caregiver for her 20-year-old daughter who was in the care of a hospice. The medical staff there found bedsores on the daughter and they guessed she might not have been prescribed doses of fentanyl and oxycodone. They tested the daughter’s urine and police say it didn’t show signs of the medications, despite Ballweg repeatedly requesting refills ahead of schedule.

Police searched Ballweg’s home on Tuesday and she confessed to having an opioid addiction and taking her daughter’s oxycodone medication for herself.

Ballweg’s bond was set at $100,000 cash on the condition that she had no contact with her daughter. According to online courts, no attorney is listed for Ballweg.

Opioid addiction has become a major issue in the United States. Over 115 people die after opioid overdose everyday in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

It’s now being considered an epidemic that can be traced back to the late 1990s according to Medical News Today. It was during this time that physicians started prescribing opioid-based pain relievers like hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, and more at higher rates.