Wal-Mart Pharmacy Defrauded out of 9,000 Painkillers

Scranton, PA Woman accused of defrauding Wal-Mart Pharmacy of 9,000 painkillers

See… now this is something. I am not going to get into too many details right now (I will get into them here soon), but there are so many holes in the way Opiate/Opiod Prescription Painkillers (and prescriptions in general) are filled by pharmacies that it’s down-right embarrassing. You will meet more resistance cashing a payroll check at your average bank than you will filling a prescription for a powerful narcotic at most pharmacies.

“Sara L. Bubser, 54, deceived the pharmacy for eight years until someone at Walmart recently called the doctor to verify the orders…” —The Scranton Times-Tribune

Where to begin? Let’s see… Most pharmacies will not check your ID. They rely on “pharmacy technicians” too heavily.  And the DEA numbers that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians count on to demonstrate “authenticity”… are a cruel joke.

There are little-to-no standards for the design of prescription pads. Ditto with procedures for phoning and faxing in prescriptions. I could go on. What went wrong at this Wal-Mart Pharmacy in this case? There are few details so far…

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• Read the Scranton Times-Tribune story for more information

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Mother describes losing child to prescription drug abuse (videos) – pottstownmercury.com

By Keith Phucas, Journal Register News Service

NORRISTOWN — http://www.pottstownmercury.com/articles/2010/04/16/news/doc4bc87346734de603530865.txt.

Demerol Did It??? Developing…

The Sun: Michael Jackson’s deadly cocktail of drugs

American Chronicle: Pop King’s Medic Faces Questions Over Drug Jab Claims

Wiener of the Week: Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper

Look, if you read this blog, you know my opinion: “the jury is still out” on Drug Courts. I have discussed in these pages a lot of problems with the data gathering and survey methodologies used in many of the most-often-cited studies supporting Drug Courts, especially with respect to major issues such as recidivism and treatment outcomes. But you’ve never seen me suggest that Drug Courts should be abandoned in favor of returning to “business-as-usual” prosecutions.

“We don’t have the time and we don’t have the assistant prosecutors…”

—Orange County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton

And I still believe they save money. This is what makes the announcement yesterday, by Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper, that she would be withdrawing her staff from the county’s [sobriety court] program—effectively shutting it down—worthy of the status of Wiener of the Week.

The problem Drug Courts face right now is that much of the funds required to run the programs come from state and federal grants, which will obviously be facing drastic cuts as the economy continues to backslide and the federal government moves into the banking and auto manufacturing business.

Drug Courts need to become regular state and county budget line items (freeing them from the whims of government grants) and the cuts to make this happen must come from the prison system. This is the only thing that makes sense. There, I said it.

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Read more on this announcement at www.freep.com.

The Partnership for a “Drug-Free” (except the ones we sell!) America

So, I received this week, an e-mail from Stephen J. Pasierb, President of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, containing several facts about prescription drug abuse. They are listed below, and I do not dispute them. I have seen similar figures from other organizations and studies.

What has always concerned me about “The Partnership” however, is their motivation. And very recently my suspicion has only increased, as they continue to heavy-up their TV advertising. As you will also see below, most of the big donors to “The Partnership” are Big Pharma companies and organizations. Does this makes any sense to you people?

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From the Stephen J. Pasierb (The Partnership President) e-mail:

• 1 in 5 teens will have abused prescription drugs by the time they graduate high school. Some of those kids may become addicted and some may die from overdose.
• Every day, 2,500 teens use a prescription drug to get high for the first time.
• 12 to 17 year olds abuse prescription drugs more than they abuse ecstasy, crack/cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine combined!
• Only 1 in 3 report learning about the risks of prescription drugs from their parents.

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Major Donors to The Partnership for a Drug-Free America (-Ed.):

• Abbott Laboratories (Pharma), $500,000+
• Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America, $500,000+
• King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., $100,000+
• Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals (Maker of Suboxone), $100,000+
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, Inc., $50,000 to $99,999
• Wyeth (Pharma) Consumer Healthcare, $50,000 to $99,999
• Endo Pharmaceuticals, $50,000+

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