{"id":56774,"date":"2024-06-21T21:37:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T04:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=56774"},"modified":"2024-06-21T21:42:37","modified_gmt":"2024-06-22T04:42:37","slug":"56774","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=56774","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Guilty of 15 Counts of Illegally Distributing Drugs, Facing Up to 300 Years in Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"A federal jury convicted a Maine doctor Friday for unlawfully distributing controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydromorphone, and fentanyl.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to evidence presented at trial, Dr. Merideth Norris, 53, of Kennebunk, distributed controlled substances to patients at her practice without a legitimate medical purpose and outside the usual course of professional practice. <\/span><\/p>\n

Norris prescribed controlled substances despite the fact that some of these patients suffered from opioid use disorder, tested positive for addictive substances that were not prescribed to them or appeared to be diverting the drugs into the community. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Dr. Merideth Norris, 53, of Kennebunk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Norris was warned about her prescribing on numerous occasions, including by way of pharmacists who refused to fill prescriptions she wrote and letters from an insurance company covering one of her patients. <\/span><\/p>\n

Walmart pharmacies also issued a \u201ccentral block,\u201d or a nationwide ban, on filling prescriptions written by Norris. <\/span><\/p>\n

When asked by Maine\u2019s Board of Osteopathic Licensure (the \u201cBoard\u201d) to justify her prescribing, Norris submitted an incomplete patient file and otherwise deceived the Board about her prescribing practices.<\/span><\/p>\n

The jury convicted Norris of 15 counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count.<\/span><\/p>\n