Doctor Charged For Opioid Deaths In Oklahoma

As the opioid epidemic spirals out of control, and more die on the streets in Big Pharma’s war on us, many are becoming aware of the cause of the crisis.  One doctor in Oklahoma is now facing justice for over prescribing the medications that lead to the death of five of her patients.

An Oklahoma doctor was charged Friday with second-degree murder in the overdose deaths of at least five patients from the powerful painkillers and other drugs she prescribed, often in combinations that made up an addict’s “holy trinity” of pills, state investigators said.

Oklahoma’s attorney general announced five second-degree murder counts against Regan Nichols, whose patients died while she worked at a Midwest City clinic. An Oklahoma County judge also issued a warrant for her arrest. But Nichols isn’t the only doctor in trouble for the epidemic.  Although this crisis could be traced back to Big Pharma and their lobbying the government for privileges, doctors seem to be taking the fall for their refusal to say “no” the pushy and disingenuous pharmaceutical companies.

Opioids, which are primarily prescription painkillers and heroin, were factors in more than 33,000 deaths across the U.S. in 2015, and opioid overdoses have more than quadrupled since 2000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Nichols prescribed patients, who entrusted their well-being to her, a horrifyingly excessive amount of opioid medications,” Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said Friday. “Nichols’ blatant disregard for the lives of her patients is unconscionable.” Attempts to reach Nichols for comment at several listed phone numbers were unsuccessful Friday and it’s unknown if she’s hired an attorney.

A state investigation found that Nichols prescribed more than 3 million doses of controlled dangerous drugs from 2010-2014. In 2010, Nichols prescribed one 47-year-old patient a total of 450 painkillers, muscle relaxants and anti-anxiety drugs known as the addict’s “holy trinity.” The patient was dead from a drug overdose six days later.

In February 2012, investigators said, another patient was prescribed 240 painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs, despite the fact the 46-year-old hadn’t been seen by Nichols for a full medical evaluation since 2008. The patient was dead by March. When one investigator looked at the dosage of narcotics the patient was taking by 2010, he remarked in the affidavit, “Amazingly, this lady did not die until two years later.” –CBS News

A probable cause affidavit alleges that Nichols prescribed more than 1,800 opioid pills to the patients who died, even though they didn’t have a medical need for them. Three of the five patients had been prescribed the lethal mix of painkillers, muscle relaxants, and anti-anxiety drugs.

In an attempt to stop the opioid epidemic in its tracks, many prosecutors have been actively seeking the convictions of doctors. A Los Angeles-area doctor convicted of second-degree murder for prescribing painkillers that killed three patients was sentenced last year to 30 years to life in prison.

Other states, however, are actually trying to strike the root of the problem. Fed up with the skyrocketing cost of treating the opioid epidemic, some states have sued some pharmaceutical companies. On Wednesday, Missouri’s attorney general sued three large pharmaceutical companies, saying their “campaign of fraud and deception” led to a startling opioid crisis in the state.  Although overprescribing of drugs is contributing to the opioid crisis, doctors should be taking a proactive stance against the lies and disinformation fed to them by the pharmaceutical companies. Yet, with the amount of money Big Pharma spends lobbying the government, there likely won’t be much of response; unless it equals that of putting a band-aid on an amputated limb.

As of right now, Congress is still protecting Big Pharma because of the money the lobbyists bring. As long as the war on drugs persists, there will be no solution to this crisis because the money generated for the wealthy will continue to flow; and that’s far more important than the health and safety of the American consumer.  Especially where Big Pharma and Big Government are concerned.