What Happened
A federal jury in October 2022 convicted Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker, 58, of Texarkana, Arkansas, on two counts of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance and two counts of distributing a Schedule V controlled substance without an effective prescription. A DEA investigation begun in 2018 found that over a two-year period he prescribed about 1.2 million dosage units of opioid pain medications, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl, to about 1,508 patients, and about 16 gallons of promethazine with codeine cough syrup. He awaits sentencing and faces up to 20 years in prison.
“convicted a Texarkana Doctor yesterday on two counts of Distribution of a Schedule II Controlled Substance Without an Effective Prescription”
Related Guidance
- 15 Red Flags of Drug Diversion — Behavioral and transactional indicators of diversion.
- Investigation Playbook — How to investigate suspected diversion inside an organization.