On more than one occasion Ouch! has addressed the rising problem of narcotic prescription trafficing involving physicians running afoul of the law.  Two recent series of arrests highlight the persistence of the problem.

The Dayton Daily News recently reported that Dr. Richard Sievers, 53, of Oakwood, Ohio was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he conspired with others to illegally distribute controlled substances by writing prescriptions with no legitimate medical purpose.  The drugs included Amphetamine, OxyContin (oxycodone), Vicodin ES (hydrocodone), Xanax (alprazolam), and Methadone (methadose).

According to the article “Sievers faces up to 20 years in prison on a conspiracy charge and was also indicted on five counts of illegally distributing methadose and one count of illegally distributing oxycodone, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison . . . .” Sievers is one of ten charged as a result of the ongoing drug investigation.

Read more about the case by clicking here.

The Lexington Herald-Leader recently reported the arrest of Roger Browne, a Florida physician who was supplying prescriptions to ten Kentuckians who visited his South Florida pain-management clinic, obtained the pills and then returned to illegal sell the medications in Kentucky.  Browne and the ten Kentuckians have been charged in an interstate prescription-pill ring, and all have pleaded guilty.  Police indicate that the case is an example of an increasing problem of Kentucky residents traveling to other states to obtain prescriptions for pain killers and then returning to the state to sell the narcotics.

Read more about the arrest by clicking here.