OxyContin Prescribers Face Charges in Fatal Overdoses

Moving against what law enforcement officials say is a boom in “pill mills,” prosecutors are charging doctors with murder or manslaughter in the deaths of patients from overdoses of prescription drugs, including the powerful painkiller OxyContin.

In a Florida courtroom this week, Dr. James Graves went on trial on manslaughter charges stemming from the overdose deaths of four people for whom he had prescribed OxyContin and other drugs; next month in a California state court, a similar case is to begin against Dr. Frank B. Fisher. Last year, Florida prosecutors charged Dr. Denis Deonarine with first-degree murder in connection with a fatal overdose.

Legal experts said it was extremely rare for a doctor to be charged with murder or manslaughter because of their prescribing practices. Doctors accused of improperly dispensing drugs have usually been charged with fraud or with illegally prescribing controlled substances.

Related:
Few States Track Prescriptions as a Method to Bar Overdoses (December 21, 2001)

Maker Chose Not to Act to Reduce Abuse of OxyContin (August 13, 2001)

The Alchemy of OxyContin: From Pain Relief to Drug Addiction (July 29, 2001)

NY Times