Pharmacy, owner told to pay fine, stop dispensing opioids

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A federal court in North Carolina has ordered a pharmacy and a pharmacist to pay a penalty and stop dispensing opioids or other controlled substances.

The U.S. Department of Justice says in a news release that Farmville Discount Drug Inc., and its owner and pharmacist-in-charge, Robert L. Crocker, to pay $600,000 in civil penalties as well as halting distribution of opioids and other controlled substances.

Prosecutors say the defendants repeatedly filled prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, and they ignored well-known “red flags” of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior when filling prescriptions for controlled substances.