Grand jury indicts Oklahoma pharmacist and Board of Health member on
felony drug charges
Some consider indictment unlawful, believe case could set
negative precedent for pharmacists.
As part of an Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) investigation,
Haskell Lee Evans Jr., 68, a Lawton, OK, pharmacist and member of the
State Board of Health, was recently indicted for allegedly
“recklessly” selling pseudoephedrine to make the illegal
stimulant methamphetamine. Evans was named in four felony (selling
methamphetamine precursors) and three misdemeanor (willful failure to
report information to the OBN) counts in an indictment unsealed in
Comanche County District Court. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson
is pursuing a sentence of up to 43 years in prison.
Evans, the owner of Haskell’s Prescription Shop in Lawton,
allegedly sold pseudoephedrine to undercover agents with valid licenses
who had not exceeded the limit of purchase. The pseudoephedrine sales
were considered "reckless" on one count because the agents arrived in
the same vehicle.
Pseudoephedrine, considered a Schedule V medication in Oklahoma, is
kept behind the pharmacy counter and dispensed upon verification of a
valid Oklahoma or federal identification. Six types of legal ID are
available in Oklahoma. Records are kept similar to other Schedule V
medications, and amounts in excess of 9 grams pseudoephedrine per month
per legal ID are not allowed to be sold. Oklahoma’s
methamphetamine legislation, considered the strictest in the nation, was
initiated to help identify and prosecute methamphetamine dealers and
addicts. Therefore, with the indictment of Evans, many pharmacists, such
as Polly Robinson, PharmD, CGP, FASCP, Tulsa, OK, believe that the law
is being turned on those expected to “police” the drug.
“If this innocent pharmacist is charged with these violations,
it sets a precedent that all pharmacists must police all prescriptions
and OTC medications they dispense,” said Robinson. “Where
will it stop? Will every pharmacist be forced to judge their patients
based on appearance, based on the medications they buy rather than
treating each of them equally as a patient? Will pharmacists have to
watch who arrives in the same car? Pharmacists will be held accountable
for the lifestyles of their patients, even if they have all the legal
identification required by law. Much of the evidence seems subjective.
All pharmacists have a stake in the outcome of this case.”
Robinson is urging pharmacists to send letters to Attorney General
Edmonson's office and to join the FaceBook page, Pharmacists
and Citizens in Support of Haskell Evans.
The OBN investigation revealed that, despite pseudoephedrine products
being marked up more than 600% above the standard retail sales price,
Haskell’s Prescription Shop remained the state’s top
pharmacy for pseudoephedrine sales. However, according to Robinson, such
mark up of pseudoephedrine could have been done by the wholesaler rather
than Evans. She also noted that many pharmacies mark up certain items to
deter inappropriate purchases and offset the costs of processing and
monitoring required by the state to sell the products.
Both Edmondson and Governor Brad Henry called on Evans to resign from
the State Board of Health, although Barry Smith, Board of Health
President, did not ask Evans to resign. Evans was quoted in a report in
Tulsa World as saying he announced his resignation on August 5
so the “Department of Health can continue its challenging work of
addressing the public health needs in Oklahoma, and to do so free of
unnecessary distraction.” Also from the Tulsa World
report, Smith said Evans “has made a selfless sacrifice through
his voluntary service to the state for over a decade, and this decision
is consistent with that sacrifice.”
The preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 23.
Sources
Related resources on pharmacist.com
Joe Sheffer (jsheffer@aphanet.org)
Posted August 12, 2009
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