Vermont State police admit to improper search

State police admit to improper search
rutlandherald.com
December 8, 2007

By DANIEL BARLOW Vermont Press Bureau

MONTPELIER — The Vermont State Police admitted Friday that detectives recently asked three pharmacies to hand over all their information on patients' use of powerful painkillers.

The actions came despite a directive from state law enforcement officials not to use indiscriminate searches.

Lt. John Flanagan said three state police detectives requested that information from three pharmacies in Vermont during the last two weeks, but that supervisors have now put a stop to that effort.

"Mistakes were made," Flanagan said. "From our perspective this is a training issue and we have taken steps to remedy it."

State police have recently launched a more proactive effort to stop the illegal sale of prescription drugs such as Oxycodone and other powerful painkillers, Flanagan said. That effort includes reaching out to pharmacists to review their internal drug security efforts and developing a relationship that could lead to tips on criminal activity.

But asking for dumps of information on who is prescribed what drug went beyond what was intended, Flanagan said.

"Our intentions here were good," said Flanagan, who added he was not sure if any of the three pharmacists approached had given up that information.

State law enforcement officials are allowed to access the massive amounts of prescription drug information under a 1967 state law, but federal health care regulations leave that final judgment call up to the individual pharmacist to cooperate or not.

Nearly one year ago — months after the Vermont Legislature debated and approved the creation of a statewide prescription monitoring database — Commissioner of Public Safety Kerry Sleeper told lawmakers police had not, and would not, use that broad authorization.

"When a diversion officer does seek access to pharmacy records, he/she only accesses patient-specific information related to the complaint and does not conduct a more general review of pharmacy records," read a December 2006 report, based on comments made by Sleeper to lawmakers.

Sleeper was in Washington, D.C., Friday and unavailable for comment.

The admission from the State Police came late Friday afternoon after the agency issued a two-page press release that detailed the new efforts to stop the illegal sale of prescription drugs, but did not admit any errors.

"Specifically, the allegations in these cases are that the Vermont State Police requested Schedule II prescription records from three particular pharmacies without a nexus to specific criminal activity," the press release read. "Such conduct, if true, would not be in violation of state law but would be a deviation from the directive given to the Vermont State Police by the commissioner of public safety."

Flanagan clarified later that these situations did occur. In the future, state police would only ask for prescription information when investigating a specific criminal allegation, he explained, as had been the process for years.

The press release from state police did cite some startling statistics: There have been 65 overdose deaths so far in 2007 related to prescription drugs, a number that is expected to hit 85 by the end of the year. There have also been 18 burglaries into homes, pharmacies and doctors' offices in search of these drugs.

Jim Marmar, a pharmacist in Woodstock and the executive director of the Vermont Pharmacist Association, said Friday he was glad state police admitted they engaged in "inappropriate behavior."

"These were very troublesome reports and I'm pleased that state police have addressed it," he said.

Marmar added that pharmacists across the state have mostly had a solid and cooperative relationship with the state's top law enforcement agency over the years.

"There is a legitimate concern over the illegal use of prescription drugs," he said.

The controversy could renew legislative efforts to repeal the 1967 law when lawmakers return to Montpelier in January, according to legislators, pharmacists and privacy advocates interviewed for this story earlier this week.

more on the story @ http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/8/5832/88466