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Two pharmacy techs who worked in the Memphis area recently gave up their licenses in separate cases following accusations that they each stole painkiller tablets. One of the cases involves at least 1,200 missing pills, the other involves more than 10,000 pills.
Records from the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy don’t describe the motivation for the thefts. But painkiller addiction is common, and some pills can attract a good price on the black market.
One of the pharmacy techs, P. Q. Tipton, formerly worked at the Walgreens at 3489 Ramill Road in Raleigh, the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy records say.
She’s accused of stealing about 10,000 tablets of the painkiller hydrocodone and more than 500 tablets of alprazolam, an anxiety drug also known as Xanax.
She’s also accused of taking eight bottles of a sedative, promethazine with codeine syrup, and four bottles of another painkiller, oxycodone.
The thefts reportedly took place beginning in August 2016 and lasting about three months, according to documents from the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy.
The documents say she admitted to the thefts.
Tipton waived her right to a hearing and voluntarily gave up her license to practice as a pharmacy tech in the state of Tennessee, according to the records.
The other action involves S. M. Jones, a pharmacy tech who had been working at Guardian Pharmacy Mid-South, a specialty pharmacy in Bartlett that serves hospices and other institutions. The tech gave up his license after accusations that he’d stolen hydrocodone.
The document says Jones altered records to cover theft of the drug. In December 2016, he diverted 1,200 pills, the charging document alleges.
Jones denies the accusations but reached a settlement in which he gave up his license, according to the records.
The disciplinary actions will be reported to a national registry.
It’s not clear if the two former pharmacy techs will face other sanctions, such as criminal charges. The Commercial Appeal was unable to find any criminal charges against them in Shelby County online records.