DEA served Immediate Suspension Order December 17, 2019; pharmacy voluntarily surrendered DEA registration January 7, 2020; paid $20,000 civil settlement April 2022 for filling controlled substance combinations designed to create euphoric effects, dispensing without valid prescriptions, providing unauthorized early refills, and dispensing Schedule II opioids for opioid dependence.

Cadott Miller Pharmacy, Ltd. — DEA Immediate Suspension and Settlement for Euphoric Combination Dispensing (2019–2022)

Outcome: The DEA served an Immediate Suspension Order on December 17, 2019; Cadott Miller Pharmacy voluntarily surrendered its DEA registration on January 7, 2020; and the pharmacy paid a $20,000 civil settlement announced April 29, 2022, to resolve allegations of dispensing controlled substance combinations designed to create euphoric effects, dispensing without valid prescriptions, providing unauthorized early refills, and illegally dispensing Schedule II controlled substances for opioid dependence.

Cadott Miller Pharmacy was an independent pharmacy in Cadott, Wisconsin. Between 2017 and 2019, the DEA executed several administrative inspection warrants to review the pharmacy's operations regarding the receiving, dispensing, and recordkeeping of controlled substances. The investigations found multiple categories of violations.

The government alleged that Cadott Miller Pharmacy dispensed controlled substances outside the usual course of professional pharmacy practice by filling combinations of controlled substances and medications that had no legitimate medical purpose, were highly addictive, and were specifically combined to create or enhance abusive and euphoric effects. The pharmacy also allegedly dispensed controlled substances without valid prescriptions, provided unauthorized early refills, and dispensed Schedule II controlled substances for opioid dependence — dispensing Schedule II opioids for dependence treatment is prohibited without specific methadone clinic or buprenorphine-waivered prescriber authorization.

On December 17, 2019, after determining that the pharmacy's compliance measures were unsuccessful, the DEA served an Immediate Suspension Order. The pharmacy voluntarily surrendered its DEA registration on January 7, 2020. The civil settlement of $20,000 was announced April 29, 2022.

Primary Source: DEA Press Release — Wisconsin Pharmacy to Pay Civil Penalty for Controlled Substance Dispensing and Record Keeping Violations (Apr. 29, 2022)