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A Twisp man who served the Brewster area for years as a pharmacist was sentenced Thursday to five years’ probation for stealing and abusing opioids from his commercial supply.
Brian Shane Johnson, the 41-year-old former owner-operator of Brewster Drug, must also pay a $7,500 fine under his sentence in U.S. District Court in Spokane, after pleading guilty in June to possessing Oxycodone without a valid prescription. He surrendered his pharmacist’s license in April, after the state Department of Health placed him on suspension.
Johnson collapsed twice while working at Brewster Drug, in July and October 2017, and had to be revived on scene by EMTs using Narcan, a nasally administered drug that counteracts symptoms of opioid overdose. On another occasion that October, he was arrested for DUI.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began a probe of Johnson’s business, suspending his license and forcing the pharmacy to close on an emergency basis in November. When interviewed, Johnson told DEA agents he used approximately eight to 10 30mg Oxycodone pills a day from his pharmacy’s stores. The DEA’s audit revealed Johnson had diverted approximately 10,594 Oxycodone 30mg pills, 1,099 15mg pills and 189 100mg pills of morphine, and 11,125 50mg pills of the muscle relaxant Carisoprodol, all for personal use.
Johnson has agreed never to practice pharmacy work in the state of Washington again. He sold the Brewster pharmacy and hardware business in late 2017; it has since reopened as Brewster Marketplace Pharmacy & True Value Hardware.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney Joseph Harrington said, “A pharmacist’s diversion of prescription drugs for personal use is particularly troubling because it removes prescription drugs from lawful distribution channels, potentially putting patients’ health at risk. The sentence imposed holds Johnson accountable for his conduct.”