A pharmacist licensed in Virginia diverted phentermine HCl 37.5 mg, a Schedule IV controlled substance used for weight loss, and self-administered it while on duty. The conduct is described in a later Maryland Board of Pharmacy order, which recounts the Virginia disciplinary history as the basis for Maryland's own review of the pharmacist's license.
The Virginia Board of Pharmacy indefinitely suspended the pharmacist's license. In lieu of a formal administrative hearing, he entered into a consent order with the Commonwealth of Virginia on or about May 22, 2006. At that time the Virginia Board stayed the indefinite suspension, allowing him to continue practicing subject to the terms of that order. The Maryland order also recites that he pled guilty to prescription fraud and was placed on supervised probation for one year.
The matter resurfaced years later in another state. The Maryland Board of Pharmacy received information that the pharmacist's Virginia license had been indefinitely suspended and initiated an investigation. The order notes that he submitted a renewal application for his Maryland license on or about September 26, 2012, and that the application asked about prior discipline such as reprimand, suspension or revocation. The Maryland order was issued in February 2013.
The available excerpt does not describe how the on-duty use was first detected in Virginia, and it does not state the specific terms Virginia attached to the stayed suspension. What it does show is that a stayed suspension in one state can still trigger licensing consequences in another state where the practitioner holds a license.