ODESSA, Texas — The Odessa pharmacy Town & Country Drug, Inc. and its owner, pharmacist Gary Warren have entered into a civil settlement with the United States to pay $320,000.
The civil settlement will resolve allegations that the pharmacy violated certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA).
The settlement comes after a May 2017 inspection of Town & Country Drug, Inc.
DEA investigators found significant discrepancies in the pharmacy's inventory of controlled substances.
The pharmacy was noted to have been in violation of numerous regulatory recordkeeping provisions and sold pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products without self-certifying as required by the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005, which helps to prevent the diversion of controlled substances for illegal purposes.
In a follow-up in February of 2020, DEA investigators discovered additional discrepancies in Town & Country's inventory of controlled substances.
Investigators concluded that Town & Country Drug continued to both violate CSA recordkeeping requirements and sell pseudoephedrine and ephedrine products without self-certifying.
Since the ruling, Town & Country Drug Inc. has informed the government that it is enhancing its recordkeeping and compliance program in response to the deficiencies identified by the DEA.
