Rite Aid to Pay $5 Million in DEA Probe

The Rite Aid Corporation and nine of its subsidiaries in eight states have agreed to pay $5 million in penalties for violations of the Controlled Substance Act following an eight-state, four-year investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration into the discount pharmacy's practices. The drug store chain has also agreed to electronic monitoring to track future sales of drugs used to manufacture methamphetamine.

Rite Aid also agreed to a compliance plan for all of its 4,915 stores nationwide.

Under the compliance plan, all Rite Aid stores will implement a tracking system for all products containing pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The medications are used to make methamphetamine. Although the DEA investigation covered only 53 stores in eight states, the compliance plan applies to all Rite Aid stores and subsidiaries.

A Pattern of Violations

According to the Department of Justice, the investigation found a pattern of violations beginning in 2004:

• At pharmacies in Kentucky and New York, Rite Aid knowingly filled prescriptions for controlled substances that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose pursuant to a valid physician-patient relationship.

• At five pharmacies in Maryland, four pharmacies in New York and 13 pharmacies in California, Rite Aid failed to notify the DEA in a timely manner of significant thefts and losses of controlled substances, thus permitting the diversion of controlled substances to continue and undermining DEA’s ability to investigate such thefts and/or losses.

• At pharmacies in California, Pennsylvania and Maryland, Rite Aid either failed to maintain or failed to furnish to the DEA upon request records that are required to be kept under the CSA for a period of two years.

• At all 53 pharmacies in all eight states, Rite Aid failed to properly execute DEA forms used to ensure that the amount of Schedule II drugs ordered by Rite Aid were actually received.

Protecting Public Health

"This settlement demonstrates the important responsibilities all pharmacies have to prevent dangerous drugs from being diverted from their intended use," said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart in a news release. "The civil penalties paid today are just one example of DEA's determination to combat the troubling prescription drug abuse problem in this country by pursuing pharmacies that fail to comply with the law. Our nation's pharmacies must play a major role in the fight against drug abuse, so that together we can protect public health and keep our communities safe."

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^{Photo: DEA}