A Tennessee nurse practitioner has been convicted in the US for prescribing nearly 1m opioid pills to almost 1 000 patients over about a year and a half, including to patients whom she allegedly knew were selling opioids on the street.
Heather Marks (43) was an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner who was licensed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to distribute controlled substances to patients seeking pain treatment at a local, rural pain clinic.
However, court papers show that between September 2016 and May 2018, Marks and others over-prescribed highly addictive opioids, including oxycodone and oxymorphone, to patients, while Marks herself prescribed nearly 1m opioid pills to almost 1 000 of the patients over the course of the conspiracy.
The patients were often addicted to illegal drugs and the opioids prescribed to them, and the court maintained that Marks ignored obvious signs when she issued the scripts. She also prescribed opioids to patients whom she knew were selling the drugs on the street.
The jury convicted her of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and eight counts of illegally distributing controlled substances. She is due to be sentenced on 1 September, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of conviction, according to the US Department of Justice.
US Justice Department article (Open access)
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