Following an undercover investigation, Dr. Norman Neal, of 2513 Old Chattanooga Pike in Cleveland, Tenn., was arrested by the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office for illegally issuing prescription medications.
The arrest took place at his practice at Doctor’s Heath Center, 4213 Cloud Springs Road, Ringgold.
The investigation began after authorities received complaints from family members of patients regarding the is-suance of prescriptions for hydrocodone and other pain medications to numerous individuals.
At the time of his arrest Tuesday morning, Neal was charged with 10 counts of signing blank prescriptions. As the day progressed, authorities compiled more evidence in the case, with Neal being charged with an additional 19 counts based on findings in his office.
According to Larry Black, commander of the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force, multiple authorized prescrip-tions were found in Neal’s 2007 Ford Fusion.
“The doctor’s vehicle, which we seized following the arrest, had 19 other prescriptions which already had the drug, and his signature on them ready to go,” Black said. “There were no patient names on any of the prescriptions, however there were several different drugs prescribed … everything from hydrocodone to aderol to solma.”
Tuesday afternoon, Catoosa County magistrate John D. Gass set Neal’s bond at $150,000, and as of this afternoon, Neal remained in Catoosa County jail.
Neal, a former Bradley County medical examiner in Cleveland, Tenn., had his badge from his previous post as well as a gun in his possession at the time of his arrest Tuesday morning.
“He had a semi-automatic handgun in a holster on his hip, which was covered by his lab coat,” Black said. “In a process such as this one where we’ve been investigating the suspect, our officers take control of the situation as quickly as possible. We were in and on him within a matter of seconds, and he was cuffed immediately. He was then sat down and he informed us of his weapon. The weapon was never an issue, but still … you never expect a doctor to have a weapon on his hip during an arrest.”
Black said Neal had the proper carrying permit for the weapon and disclosed that Neal had the weapon for ap-parent “safety reasons.”
As part of the investigation, the Drug Task Force had been monitoring Neal with audio and video surveillance leading up to the arrest.
According to Black, Neal had been issuing prescriptions to both patients as well as non-patients.
“He was illegally writing the scripts for scheduled narcotics to his patients who would get the drugs in addition to the diet drugs they were receiving,” Black said. “He would write additional prescriptions for patients as well as for non-patients, and they then would bring the drugs back to him and divide them up among them. There were times where multiple blank prescriptions were given to patients, then given from the patients to other people, and they were getting the drugs, having never been a patient of Neal, and in most cases having never set foot in the clinic.”
Black held nothing back in stating how much of a problem drug abuse is in not only the country, but also north Georgia specifically.
“Drug abuse is a strong problem. That is not going to just go away,” he said. “Whether people try to obtain it for the high, the buzz, or just the financial gain, it’s a terrible problem, and it needs to be addressed as aggressively as possible.”
“Pill mills” as there are commonly referred, are becoming more of a problem as well, making it harder for law enforcement and agencies such as the drug task force to address the issue before it gets out of hand.
“People line up in waiting rooms of these typical medical offices, which are usually set up close to the inter-states, and they are able to get and abuse their prescription drugs of choice,” Black said. “Doctor’s have responsi-bilities, and there has to be a set course, and steps in place to follow before the just start writing prescriptions for people who aren’t obtaining them for the right reasons.”
In addition to holding doctors accountable for their actions, Black says that educating the public and young peo-ple on drug abuse remains one of the primary focal points of drug agencies.
“We have to keep bringing attention and education to not only the public, but our youth as well,” he said. “Pill addiction is an ongoing problem with young adults, and it takes place in every high school in America. Pill abuse has to be aggressively addressed. The doctors and the people that line up in the waiting rooms of clinics obtaining these drugs are the ones responsible for them ending up in the hands of our children.”
The addiction aspect of the problem not withstanding, Black says that the financial profit that can be gained from pill rings is the often the motivating factor.
“Oxycotin is big problem,” Black said. “On the street, it’s valued at approximately $1 per milligram. People can sell these drugs for $40 per pill and make a huge profit when they have doctors freely writing them numerous pre-scriptions.”
At this time, it is unknown as to how long the Doctor’s Health Center will be closed, as authorities continue to investigate the case to uncover whether other employees were involved with the operation, officials said.
Read more: CatWalkChatt – Catoosa County doctor now facing 29 charges clinic shut down
Comments