Shaffer Pharmacy
Outcome
Federal court issued temporary restraining order January 2021 against Shaffer Pharmacy, owner Thomas Tadsen, and pharmacist Wilson Bunton; June 2021 consent decree imposed $375,000 civil penalty and permanent restrictions on dispensing opioid-benzodiazepine combinations with mandatory periodic compliance reviews.
Details
Shaffer Pharmacy — Federal Court Injunction and $375,000 Consent Decree for Opioid Red Flag Failures (2021)
Outcome: U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary issued a temporary restraining order in January 2021 against Shaffer Pharmacy, pharmacist-owner Thomas Tadsen, and pharmacist Wilson Bunton; in June 2021, a federal court ordered a $375,000 civil penalty and permanent restrictions on dispensing opioid-benzodiazepine combinations, with mandatory periodic comprehensive reviews of dispensing practices, via agreed consent decree.
Shaffer Pharmacy was a Toledo, Ohio independent pharmacy operated by pharmacist-owner Thomas Tadsen. The government alleged that over a period of several years, Tadsen and co-pharmacist Wilson Bunton dispensed highly addictive and highly abused prescription opioids while ignoring obvious red flags of drug diversion and drug-seeking behavior in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
The investigation was conducted by the DEA, FBI, HHS Office of Inspector General, Ohio Board of Pharmacy, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and the Ohio Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. In January 2021, the government filed a complaint and sought emergency injunctive relief, which Judge Zouhary granted via temporary restraining order.
Following the initial temporary restraint and subsequent litigation, Shaffer Pharmacy, Tadsen, and Bunton entered into an agreed consent judgment in June 2021. The consent decree imposed a $375,000 civil penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and pharmacists from dispensing certain opioid prescriptions, including combination opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions. The order also mandated periodic comprehensive reviews of the pharmacy's dispensing practices to ensure ongoing compliance with the order and the CSA.
How Crucible Prevents This
The consent decree against Shaffer Pharmacy imposed exactly the kind of controls that Crucible enforces structurally: prohibition on opioid-benzodiazepine combinations and mandatory periodic dispensing practice reviews. Crucible's drug combination blocking controls and compliance review scheduling would have implemented these requirements prospectively rather than requiring a federal consent decree to impose them.
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