Student and pharmacist worked together to sell drugs on Louisiana campus, feds say
A pharmacist and a pharmacy student in Louisiana were indicted after being accused of working together to sell prescription drugs to college students, according to officials.
The 25-year-old student and 37-year-old pharmacist met while the student was in training where the the pharmacist worked in Monroe, Louisiana, according to an April 12 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the western district of Louisiana.
According to prosecutors, between June and December 2022 the pharmacist would go to a medical provider and receive prescriptions for Adderall and Vyvanse, both of which are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He would then sell some or all of the drugs to the pharmacy student, “knowing that (he) was going to sell the drugs to other individuals,” prosecutors said.
The pharmacy student would also see a doctor to be prescribed Adderall himself that he would then sell to students at a university in Monroe, according to officials.
The pharmacy student would use Venmo and other mobile payment services to buy and sell the drugs on campus, according to the indictment.
“Americans rely on pharmacies every day to legally dispense prescription medication to whom it is intended,” U.S. Attorney Brandon B. Brown said in the release. “This region is also blessed to have a pharmacy school. Persons who are fortunate enough to work as pharmacists and those who have the chance to study pharmacy should not abuse these privileges. We allege that these persons acted illegally and look forward to proceeding with this case through the judicial process.”
Both the pharmacist and the pharmacy student were indicted on April 12 on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, obtaining controlled substances by fraud, and distribution of a controlled substance, according to the release.
If they are convicted, they could each face a prison term of up to 20 years with three years supervised release, plus a fine of $250,000.
Monroe is about 275 miles northwest of New Orleans.
