A Tennessee nurse practitioner has been convicted of illegally prescribing nearly a million opioid pills to almost 1,000 patients at a rural pain clinic, the Justice Department said in a June 2 news release.
Heather Marks, of Murfreesboro, prescribed oxycodone and oxymorphone to patients at Lifeforce Pain and Wellness in Carthage, Tenn., between September 2016 and May 2018, ignoring signs that patients were using illegal drugs or selling their prescriptions on the street. Patients reportedly traveled hundreds of miles to obtain prescriptions at the clinic.
Ms. Marks was convicted on one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and eight counts of illegally distributing controlled substances. Sentencing is scheduled for September 1, and she faces up to 20 years in prison on each count.
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