Judge orders Toledo pharmacy to stop dispensing controlled substances amid opioid investigation
Updated Jan 15, 2021;
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A federal judge has temporarily stopped a Toledo pharmacy from dispensing opioids and other controlled substances as authorities investigate its business practices.
U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary ordered Shaffer Pharmacy to avoid destroying or altering records in its possession. The court unsealed the ruling Thursday after investigators searched the business as part of a criminal investigation.
Thomas Tadsen has owned the pharmacy for more than 40 years. In a brief interview Friday, he declined to comment, saying, “I’m meeting with an attorney over the whole mess.”
Updated: 1:00 PM EST January 15, 2021
TOLEDO, Ohio A temporary restraining order, enjoining a Toledo pharmacy and two of its pharmacists from dispensing opioids and other controlled substances, has been issued by a federal court in the state, the Department of Justice announced Friday.
According to a civil complaint filed Jan. 6, Shaffer Pharmacy, its owner Thomas Tadsen and pharmacist Wilson Bunton, are accused of repeatedly dispensing opioids and other controlled substances in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
The complaint alleges that over a period of several years, the pharmacists dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring “red flags” described as obvious indications of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior.