Methadone by the Thousand

A registered physician wrote huge numbers of methadone prescriptions over about five and a half months — on some days more than 100 — after minimal physical examinations, ignoring test results and charging fees based on the quantity of drug prescribed rather than the medical services provided. Three pharmacies filled 11,169 of his prescriptions, about 800,000 tablets, and he took in at least $260,000. He was prosecuted under the federal statute that makes it a crime to knowingly distribute or dispense a controlled substance. The defence argued that, as a physician registered under the Controlled Substances Act, he could be dealt with only through the Act's administrative controls and could not be prosecuted under the drug-dealing provision at all.