This week, a physician in Texas was convicted of illegally prescribing over one million opioid pills.  He could face up to 160 years in prison, or 20 years for each of the eight charges he was convicted of.  He was convicted of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and seven counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances.

The Epoch Times Reports–

 

 

 

 

“James Pierre, a 52-year-old doctor from Houston, Texas, was convicted on March 25 for illegally prescribing over one million pills of hydrocodone, an opioid pain medication.

“Pierre was convicted of one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and seven counts of unlawfully distributing and dispensing controlled substances,” the justice department said in a March 25 press release. “He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 27 and faces up to 20 years in prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”

Pierre made the unlawful prescriptions between June 2015 and July 2016 to hundreds of individuals posing as patients at the West Parker Medical Clinic, according to evidence and court documents presented during trial.”

Pierre made $300,000 off of the scheme, which involved bringing in people posing as patients and giving them hydrocodone carisoprodol.  The clinic he worked at, West Parker clinic, made $1.75 million off of prescriptions wrote by him.

Earlier this month, a pharmacy owner was convicted of distributing controlled substances and laundering money after it was found that he distributed more than 1.5 million opioid pills illegally.

Opioids make up the vast majority of drug overdose deaths.  From October 2020 to September 2021, 78,388 people died of opioid related overdose deaths.  104,288 people died of opioid deaths in total during the same period.