Like most people in Georgia, physicians and pharmacists wake up every day and go to work. But unlike most people, physicians and pharmacists are susceptible to accusations of running a “pill mill.” Many law enforcement officers suspect that some doctors who have access to prescription narcotics are participating in faux pain clinics that overprescribe medications. After Georgia law enforcement recently conducted a large bust of pain clinics suspected of distributing medication to people with no medical need for it, CBS Atlanta News reports that a judge in DeKalb County has released all of the suspects on bond.

Being charged with a medical crime, such as illegally distributing prescription pain medication, can be extremely damaging to a physician or pharmacist’s career. If convicted, these professionals can lose their medical licenses. Even being charged with a drug conspiracy crime can destroy a reputation. Working with a criminal defense attorney who specializes in prescription drug crimes is one of the best ways to protect one’s legal rights after a criminal indictment.

Although the DeKalb County District Attorney has alleged that the 11 medical professionals who were arrested at numerous locations across seven Georgia counties are “essentially drug dealers,” the judge believed they posed little threat to the community and released them on bond. Not one of the suspects has a criminal record and most, if not all, of them have been described as model citizens.

The 11 suspects have all insisted that they have done nothing wrong. Officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration have accused some of the pharmacists of filling out out-of-state prescriptions, but the pharmacists were quick to point out that Georgia does not have a law, which prohibits such action.

Source: WSBTV Atlanta News, “Judge grants bond for pill defendants in pill mill operation,” Jodie Fleischer, Updated: November 23, 2011