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Police say a 38-year-old man has admitted to stealing opioids and anti-anxiety medications from the Albertsons on 10th Avenue South where he worked as the pharmacy manager.
Stephen Scott Hargis is charged with stealing approximately $800 in Buprenorphine, Alprazolam, Diazepam and Modafinil, prescribed to those with narcolepsy, over a six-month period.
Great Falls police responded to the Albertsons on Jan. 4, where they spoke with a two district managers about the reported thefts. Surveillance video from the store reportedly showed Hargis taking the drugs from the dispensary or putting them directly into his mouth.
Charging documents state Hargis admitted to the thefts, and that they took place been June 2017 and this month.
Prosecutors filed five felony charges against him on Friday, including embezzlement and four counts of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. They requested his bail be set at $2,500, noting he has no prior criminal records.
Cascade County officials in November voted to join a lawsuit suing pharmaceutical manufacturers for downplaying their addictive tendencies.
According to a report from the Montana Attorney General’s Office released in September, opioids are the most common substance associated with drug poisoning deaths, accounting for 42 percent of all deaths in the category during 2013 and 2014. Since 2000, the rate of prescription drug overdose deaths has doubled, with more than 700 from prescription opioid overdose alone.