Jailed For Trying To Fill A Prescription
In yet another sick casualty of the absurd War on Drugs, a Dallas woman, Annie Lenhart, was thrown in jail when she went to the drug store for more painkillers — painkillers for which she had a legal prescription after shattering her kneecap falling down a cliff on vacation. Susy Solis writes for DFW’s CBSlocal.com:
With the help of several men, Lenhart climbed out of the area and after a 3 1/2 hour trip to the nearest hospital in Port-Au-Prince, she underwent reconstructive surgery with no general anesthesia.
A week later she was flown back to the U.S., still in deep pain, and admitted into Baylor Medical Center in Dallas.
“They gave me a pretty high, heavy duty narcotic, Norco, as a painkiller going forward and I had used that up. It had been a month and I had called for my refill,” Lenhart said.
The pharmacy called Lenhart to ask her exactly what time she would be in pick up her prescription. She thought it was odd, but told the pharmacy what time she would be there.
Still on crutches and unable to drive, a friend of Lenhart’s, drove her to a CVS Pharmacy in Oak Cliff.
She wasn’t able to pick up her prescription because a police officer arrived to pick her up.
“He was like ‘we need to go outside,’” she said. “I was on crutches and I had a permanent IV line in my arm. I had a big leg brace. I asked him if it was necessary and he said yes and he rather policingly escorted me out the front door and into the back of a waiting patrol car.”
Lenhart was so stunned, she didn’t think to ask the officer questions. The officer explained to her what was going on.
“He said, ‘Well we believe that you have forged your pain pill prescription and we are calling your doctor now. But I’ve worked with this pharmacist a number of times and he’s never made a mistake,” Lenhart said.
The officer then took her the Dallas County jail, where she remained overnight. After she was released on bond, she was charged with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, a felony.
She eventually things straightened out, but consider this: An injured woman had her freedom taken from her because of the drug war. Yet another woman, yet another person, among so many people.
