A Cadott pharmacy has been ordered to pay $20,000 for violating the Controlled Substances Act. | Árpád Czapp/Unsplash
A Cadott pharmacy has been ordered to pay $20,000 for violating the Controlled Substances Act. | Árpád Czapp/Unsplash
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin has ordered a Cadott pharmacy to pay $20,000 for violating the Controlled Substances Act.
The fine imposed on Cadott Miller Pharmacy is intended to address federal civil allegations of dispensing controlled substances outside of the usual course of professional pharmacy practices, a recent WEAU.com report said. The company has also raised concerns about recordkeeping violations.
Over a two-year period commencing in 2017, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) “executed administrative inspection warrants to review the pharmacy’s operations, including receiving, dispensing and recordkeeping of controlled substances,” a news release cited by WEAU said.
In mid-December of 2019, the DEA moved to suspend the pharmacy’s DEA Certificate of Registration after uncovering the pharmacy’s compliance measures had failed. Approximately a month later, the pharmacy voluntarily surrendered its registration and has not been able to dispense controlled substances since then.
In the subsequent agreement reached by the two sides, the pharmacy is alleged to have violated the Controlled Substances Act by “filling combinations of controlled substances and medications that have no legitimate medical purpose, are highly addictive and specifically combined to create or enhance abusive and euphoric effects,” the report said. Government officials also highlighted that the pharmacy allegedly violated federal law by dispensing controlled substances without a valid prescription, made early refills that were unauthorized and dispensed controlled substances for opioid dependence.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District Timothy O’Shea stressed that such practices endanger the public.
“Pharmacies hold a public trust and grave responsibilities,” he said in the WEAU report. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will gladly partner with DEA to protect the public when pharmacies violate federal law.”
With the Milwaukee District Office of the DEA overseeing the investigation that led to the settlement, the civil penalty was established based on the pharmacy’s inability to pay a substantial penalty based on review of the pharmacy’s financial condition.
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