SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Robberies for OxyContin are so common that Walgreens has installed time-delayed safes in its 114 pharmacies across the state of Washington to hold the powerful painkiller. Oxycontin is one brand of the drug oxycodone, which the Federal Drug Administration in 2008 named as one of the top 10 drugs for misuse, abuse and overdose.

The safes reportedly take several minutes to open, halting immediate access to the prescription drug. This change impacts 10 stores in the city of Vancouver alone, plus others stretching from Wahkiakum to Klickitat counties in KATU's Southwest Washington viewing areas.

"We've installed these safes in all our Washington stores already," Walgreens Spokesperson Robert Elfinger told KATU.com, "and they were activated all in unison on Saturday."

The safes also hold "other prescriptions that robbers have been targeting," Elfinger said. That includes generics of the OxyContin brand.

Walgreens said OxyContin robberies in Washington are the most in the nation for the company. According to Associated Press reports, the wait gives law enforcement more time to arrive, and also means that security cameras installed in all Walgreens store will get better pictures of robbers.

Additional information

• About oxycodone, per the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
• KATU.com's continued coverage on OxyContin, including the drug's reputed tie to Michael Jackson's death.