Police investigate fake prescriptions at local pharmacy

 

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Police in Chillicothe is investigating several fake prescriptions that were being filled at Adena Health Center Pharmacy.

Reports say investigators met with a pharmacist after the discovery of several fake prescriptions that had been filled for promethazine with codeine. The medication is primarily prescribed to “relieve cough, runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, or other symptoms caused by allergies, or the common cold,” said the Mayo Clinic. The medication with the added codeine has been used as a popular street cocktail, where users reported getting an opiate high from drinking the syrup-like liquid. Hundreds of overdoses have been reported across the nation in recent years related to the combination. 

Investigators said the pharmacist was able to provide 4 prescriptions that were made out to different people from two medical offices. They also reported that the same individual would call to check on the prescription order status, and then send another person in to pick up the medication.  

The pharmacy, authorities say, “does not check identification when picking up the prescriptions as long as they have the correct name and birth date.” 

The police department says the prescriptions were listed as the following: 

• Ohio Health Center in Columbus for patient David Shriner and provided Paul Renzetti 
• Fairfield Medical Center patient Frank Griffin provider Mark Becker 
• Fairfield Medical Center patient Mark Winchester provider Mark Becker 
• Fairfield Medical Center patient Frank Griffin provider Mark Becker.  

Officials say the pharmacists were asked to contact police if someone attempted to pick up the medications.  

A similar case occurred over the summer. 

In July, the Chillicothe Police Department arrested 20-year-old Abdullahi Abdukadir Osman after the pharmacist of another local pharmacy said he had received a call from a supposed doctor out of Washington State for a prescription of promethazine with codeine.

Officials did not say if the two cases are connected.  

At the time of this publication, no arrests have been made.