VA Pain Doctor Sentenced to Almost Five Years
The feds are serious about indicting those involved in the illegal selling of prescription painkillers. Latest on the chopping block is a pain doctor in Virginia named William E. Hurwitz who was convicted on 16 counts of drug trafficking. Prosecutors wanted him to get life, but he was sentenced to 25 years, a sentence which was later overturned and cut down to about five years.
What’s the difference between prescribing pain medication and drug trafficking? Quantity, apparently. High-dose treatments in massive quantities compared to other more conservative doctors. In Hurwitz’s case, he prescribed opiate painkillers to 400+ patients from 39 states in a four year period. It is a fine line, though. The judge who sentenced Hurwitz, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, pointed out that though he missed the obvious signs that many of his patients were addicts and dealers, he had also saved lives with his prescriptions.
Hurwitz’s sentence is despite the fact that he was acting in “good faith.” Though he did not intentionally prescribe opiate painkillers illegally, ignorance is not protected by law. Federal prosecutors have a zero tolerance policy and it applies to those who purchase the illegal painkillers as much as it does those who prescribe them. Hurwitz’s arrest and ultimate conviction was part of a huge investigation called Operation Cotton Candy in which more than 130 people were convicted for drug trafficking and prescription fraud.
As if you needed another reason to treat your opiate addiction with Suboxone treatment, here’s another one: freedom. The United States is notorious for locking people up for using drugs no matter how the addiction started. If you are addicted to prescription painkillers you’re only half a step away from being one of those people who needs to subsidize their legal prescription with a little illegal purchase here and there. Don’t join Hurwitz and others who are spending the next five years to life in jail paying for drug addiction. Call Meditox instead.
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