Oxycontin

Dr. James Graves who was found guilty of manslaughter has been sentenced to nearly 63 years in prison. Dr. Graves was convicted by a Milton, Fla. jury of manslaughter and racketeering in connection with the overdose deaths of four patients for whom he had prescribed OxyContin and other drugs. Graves is the nation's first doctor to be found guilty in such a case and has set a precedent. Currently, in different areas of the country, many doctors are being prosecuted for what the government claims to be manslaughter. Now if a patient dies of misusing a drug the fingers will be pointed at the doctor instead of the patient, when in reality, it was the patient who did not use the drug for medicinal purposes, who became addicted to the drug, and who sold the drugs for profit. Hence, doctors are faultless and should not be criminally prosecuted for acts like these.

In the case of Dr. Graves, a pain management specialist, he gave out his prescriptions recklessly or to anyone who was willing to pay. The prosecutors in the case charged that Dr. Graves recklessly wrote prescriptions to anyone willing to pay for an office visit without asking the proper pre-prescribing questions, he endangered their lives which caused their deaths. "Dr. Graves argued that he followed medical protocols and legitimately prescribed OxyContin and other pain medication to patients he saw in his office. If the patients would have taken the medications as prescribed, they would not have died, he argued." The jury went in favor of the prosecutor's side.

The drug OxyContin that Dr. Graves has been prescribing to his patients is a very powerful pain killer. "OxyContin contains oxycodone, a very strong narcotic pain reliever similar to morphine. OxyContin is designed so that the oxycodone is slowly released over time, allowing it to be used twice daily. You should never break, chew, or crush the OxyContin tablet since this causes a large amount of oxycodone to be released from the tablet all at once, potentially resulting in a dangerous or fatal drug overdose." Many of Dr. Graves' patients have been doing such thing as breaking the tablets and chewing them or cooking them and then injecting them into their body, which is lethal. It is not the doctor's fault if their patient uses the painkiller as a lethal drug. The doctor doesn't intend for them to use the drug in such harmful ways. The patient who lies to get their medicine and use it as a drug is responsible. But the factors in the case of Dr. Graves I believe that he is an exception to all other doctors. Because of the way the prosecutors testimonies was presented it made me believe that Dr. Graves is in fact responsible for the deaths of his patients but not entirely.

The testimonies of the prosecutions side were stronger and more damaging than that of the defensive side. Many patients who were brought to the stand testified that Dr. Graves usually didn't give them a proper examination or check-ups. In one testimony, a former patient of Graves, Dana Black, said that Dr. Graves knew she was addicted to her pain medicine yet he still gave her prescriptions. "She said Graves still wrote her prescriptions for a mix of Oxycontin, Lortab, Soma, Xanax and Valium even after her stint in rehab at Lakeview Center. Black said she went to the psychiatric facility to try to kick her addiction, but relapsed. She went back to seeing Graves and told him about her stay at Lakeview. We never really talked about anything medical wise," Black said ." A testimony given by a pharmacist said that she found Graves giving out "over, excessive prescriptions." A testimony given by a medical expert in addiction said that the doctor was "reckless" in the pattern of prescription he routinely issued for patients. "Parran said Graves should have known patients were addicts, even if they lied to him because there were physical signs of drug abuse, including track marks." "Combining OxyContin with some other types of medication such as sleeping pills, tranquilizers, and other pain medications may be dangerous due to the risk of interactions of these medications that can result in injury or death. You should speak with your physician before taking any other medicines with OxyContin. You should also tell your physician about all prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and dietary supplements/herbal remedies that you are taking before starting OxyContin." A reasonable doctor would notice such signs of drug abuse and would not prescribe painkillers such as OxyContin, yet Dr. Graves thought differently. Doctors are aware of the guidelines for the prescriptions that are given out. Dr. Graves was aware of the drug use in his patients but ignored that and still gave the prescription for drug.

Criminal Justice Authorities have been cracking down on doctors that prescribe powerful drugs like Oxycontin. "The past five years has generated an unprecedented list of health care providers charged with murder for allegedly providing inappropriately large quantities of opioids to pain patients. In Kansas, Dr. Stan Naramore was convicted of murdering one patient and attempting the murder of another, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. Murder charges were filed against Indiana physician Jong Bek, and later dropped for lack of evidence. Dr. Robert Weitzel of Salt Lake City was charged with first-degree murder and convicted of manslaughter and negligent homicide, then acquitted on retrial. In California, five charges of first-degree murder were brought against Dr. Frank Fisher, Pharmacist Stephen Miller, and Miller's wife Madeline Miller, but were dismissed four years later due to lack of evidence."

For these types of medical cases I believe that they should be held in a different manner. Instead of being presented and argued in front of a Judge and a Jury who most likely have no expertise or knowledge in the medical field, the case should be handled with people from the same field. The cases should be argued in front of a group of medical experts and a special medical Judge. They can rightfully argue whether or not a prescription for a drug was excessive or if a doctor was being reckless and intended on having the patient

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