A 24-year-old patient died from a morphine overdose after a dentist allegedly wrote three opioid prescriptions for the patient in five days.
Highlights
- A dozen defendants across eight federal districts have been charged in connection with the illegal prescription and distribution of 5.1 million pills.
- The defendants span seven states and account for approximately $7 million in opioid-related fraud loss, the Justice Department says.
- One pharmacist in Florida allegedly sold 219,567 pills of oxycodone and 112,840 pills of hydromorphone on the black market between 2019 and 2021.
- The Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force has so far charged 111 defendants over three years.
- One person dies from a drug overdose every 5 minutes throughout the United States, the DEA said Wednesday.
- According to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite,