SANFORD, Fla.,None — When the DEA raided two CVS pharmacies in Sanford on Saturday, it was the first time stores from a major national pharmacy chain were ordered to stop selling controlled substances like the powerful painkiller oxycodone.
Late Monday, the DEA held a news conference at its office in Heathrow. It said these raids were part of a year long investigation in which these pharmacies were distributing excessive numbers of oxycodone pills.
"We're not talking about a gray area here. We're not talking about pharmacists who got haphazard a few times on a couple of prescriptions."
Special agent in charge Mark Trouville said those pharmacies were given "immediate suspension orders."
On Friday, they also ordered prescription drug wholesaler Cardinal Healthcare to cease shipping these types of drugs from its Lakeland distribution center. That is the largest distribution center in all of Florida.
The DEA said these pharmacies ordered 20 times the national average when it came to oxycodone pills.
People may have been using bogus prescriptions, and the pharmacists should have known.
"The continued registration of CVS represents an imminent threat to public health and safety," Trouville said.
Cardinal Healthcare got a temporary injunction allowing it to sell controlled substances until this goes before a judge.
The DEA said right now these are only administrative actions, but it's possible arrests could follow.
Late Monday afternoon, CVS released a statement saying it was disappointed that the DEA has taken an administrative action to prohibit two CVS/pharmacy stores in Florida from dispensing, and the company was unwavering in its compliance and support to keep controlled substances out of the wrong hands. Read the full statement here.
WFTV
