Boca Raton doctor charged with distributing Oxycontin, US Attorney reports

August 4, 2005 - R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Mark Trouville, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, Miami Field Division, announced today the July 28, 2005 Indictment of a Boca Raton doctor on charges of illegal distribution of OxyContin.

Defendant, Andrew D. Weiss, a Boca Raton doctor and the operator of Pain Management of the Palm Beaches, located in West Palm Beach, Florida, was arrested on August 2, 2005, in connection with an Indictment charging him with the illegal distribution of oxycodone, outside the course of professional medical practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.

Specifically, Weiss was charged with forty (40) counts of illegal distribution of oxycodone. The grand jury also charged Weiss with obstructing the federal grand jury investigation, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sec. 1512�. Each count carries a maximum penalty of twenty (20) years� imprisonment.

According to the Indictment, Weiss was responsible for illegally authorizing the distribution of more than 12,000 tablets of oxycodone. Oxycodone is a Schedule II controlled substance that is addictive, and one of the most powerful pain control medicines that can be taken orally.

Weiss made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, August 3, 2005 at 10:00 a.m., in Ft. Pierce, Florida, before United States Magistrate Linnea R. Johnson. A detention hearing is scheduled before Judge Johnson in Ft. Pierce on August 5, 2005.

United States Attorney Acosta stated, �Doctors are duty-bound by their oaths to help improve the health and welfare of our citizens, and to conduct themselves ethically. They have a special responsibility to ensure that prescription medications do not become the illegal drug du Jour. Illegally dispensing prescription medications is a serious federal crime, just like trafficking in cocaine and crack, and doctors who do this will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.�

�A doctor who illegally prescribes narcotics from the confines of his office is no different than a petty drug dealer selling from any street corner in America,� said Mark R. Trouville, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division. �Federal and local agencies working together made a difference today. This case was successful because of the hard work and dedication of agents and officers of the DEA and the Burlington, Vermont Police Department.�

Mr. Acosta commended the efforts of the West Palm Beach office of the Drug Enforcement Administration for their long-term efforts to investigate illegal oxycodone distribution. Assistant United States Attorney Steve Carlton is prosecuting the case out of the West Palm Beach, Florida office.