Maintaining a pharmacist practice in Hawaii has to be among the most desirable of possible healthcare careers, given the state’s spectacular beauty, friendly population, stable economy, and sophisticated healthcare. Yet, you earned it, with all you invested in your pharmacy education, internship, and licensure. Just don’t risk everything you’ve invested and that you expect to see returned. Beware, the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges related to your criminal issues. The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy won’t hesitate to discipline your license up to suspension or revocation if it believes that you present a risk to pharmacy customers or the profession. Your best move is to retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team to defend your Hawaii Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. We are available in Urban Honolulu, East Honolulu, Hilo, Pearl City, Kailua CDP, Waipahu, Kaneohe, Mililani Town, Kahului, Ewa Gentry, or any other Hawaii location to help you defend and defeat your Hawaii Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for your best possible disciplinary outcome.
Hawaii Pharmacist Criminal Arrests
Hawaii may be a tropical paradise, but it still has its criminal issues. Hawaii has higher property crime rates than the national average, although it has lower violent crime rates. Hawaii crime statistics show that residents commit over 40,000 crimes annually, with over 90% of those crimes in the property rather than violence category. Property crimes include shoplifting, burglary, trespassing, vandalism, and arson, among others. Violent crimes include homicides, assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, and robbery, among others. Crimes against the public, like drug crimes, drunk driving, disorderly conduct, and lewdness or indecent exposure, are also relatively common in the state. Hawaii pharmacists, like pharmacists in other states, are unfortunately among those committing crimes against the general population. See, for example, the conviction of a notorious pharmacist for murder by poisoning and for investor fraud. If you face the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy discipline for a criminal conviction that anyone, not just a pharmacist, may have committed, let us help you defend and defeat the disciplinary charges.
Hawaii Pharmacist Pharmacy Crimes
Hawaii pharmacists also unfortunately commit crimes related to their pharmacist practice. Constant access to controlled substances can be a painful inducement. See, for example, the conviction of a Hawaii pharmacist for the deceptive sale of mislabeled commodities. See also pharmacist convictions across the country for misappropriating controlled substances, unlawful oxycodone distribution, kickback scams, pill mills, infectious disease spread, insurance fraud, dispensing violations, and opioid diversion. The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy has trained investigators, disciplinary officials, and agency resources to regularly discipline Hawaii pharmacists who violate Board of Pharmacy rules and standards. See for yourself: the Board of Pharmacy publishes its disciplinary action reports among professional discipline reports online, including the pharmacist’s name, wrong, and sanction. Don’t ignore or minimize your discipline risks. Instead, get our skilled and experienced help.
Hawaii Pharmacist Licensure Authority
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-4.5 authorizes the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy to license and regulate pharmacist practice, including to renew and discipline licenses. The Act’s Section 461-9 prohibits any person from practicing pharmacy unless they have a Board of Pharmacy license. The Act’s Section 461-17 makes it unlawful to practice without a license, punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail. You must maintain your pharmacist license to continue your pharmacist practice in Hawaii. Don’t risk unlicensed practice. Instead, let us defend and defeat your disciplinary charges related to your criminal issues.
Hawaii Pharmacist Licensure Requirements
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-5 states the basic qualifications for licensure as a Hawaii pharmacist. Those qualifications include earning a pharmacy degree, passing the pharmacy exam, and completing 1,500 hours of a supervised internship. The Act’s Section 461-21 permits the Board of Pharmacy to deny your license or renewal on any of the listed grounds to discipline your license. Those grounds include violations of any state or federal drug, controlled substances, or poison laws. Hawaii Board of Pharmacy Rule 16-95-32 permits the Board of Pharmacy to consider criminal convictions relating to pharmacist practice when issuing, renewing, or disciplining your license. Let us help if you face any issues regarding your qualifications for licensure due to your criminal conviction.
Hawaii Pharmacist License Renewals
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-8 requires you to renew your license every two years, while showing that you continue to meet all licensure requirements. As just indicated above, the Board of Pharmacy may refuse to renew your license on any grounds Section 461-21 authorizes for discipline of your license. Also, as shown just above, Section 461-21 lists violation of drug laws as a ground for discipline and therefore for non-renewal, just as Rule 16-95-32 lists conviction for crimes relating to pharmacy practice as a ground for discipline and therefore for non-renewal. Let us help you invoke the Board of Pharmacy’s hearing procedures if the Board refuses to renew your license because of your criminal issues.
Hawaii Pharmacist License Discipline for Crime
You may not only face license renewal issues over your criminal conviction but also a separate license disciplinary proceeding before the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy. The Act’s Section 461-21 permits the Board of Pharmacy to discipline your license based on your violation of any state or federal drug, controlled substance, or poison law. Hawaii Board of Pharmacy Rule 16-95-32 adds to the disciplinary list a criminal conviction relating to pharmacy practice. However, Hawaii’s Uniform Act on Status of Convicted Persons, Hawaii Statutes Section 831-3.1, generally limits the Board of Pharmacy’s consideration of criminal convictions to convictions within the past ten years relating to the practice. Section 831-3.1 further requires a formal hearing on whether the conviction meets the statute as a disqualifying crime, if the licensee requests the hearing. Let us invoke your hearing rights to challenge any use of your criminal conviction in your Board of Pharmacy disciplinary proceeding.
Hawaii Pharmacy Board Disciplinary Discretion
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-21, authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to discipline, leaves it to the Board’s discretion whether to impose discipline. The statute states that the Board “shall have the power” to discipline, not that it must discipline. The Board of Pharmacy’s discretion gives our attorneys the opportunity to advocate any relevant grounds for your relief from discipline. Those grounds may include your young age, inexperience, and immaturity when committing the crime, your rehabilitation and maturity since then, your strong academic and employment record, your clean criminal record other than the one conviction, and your clean disciplinary record. We can also call witnesses to bolster your character and fitness, show remedial treatment and training you have completed, and show that your crime did not harm any pharmacy customer or indicate any such pharmacy practice risk. We may also be able to show that your crime involved heat of passion or other triggering circumstances that won’t repeat.
Disciplinary Differences Among Specific Crimes
You’ve just seen that Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-21 permits discipline based on criminal violation of state or federal drug, controlled substance, or poison law, while Hawaii Board of Pharmacy Rule 16-95-32 adds criminal conviction relating to pharmacy practice. The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy will consider the specific crime you committed. We may be able to present the following defenses to disciplinary charges, based on those two categories of crime for which the Hawaii Board of Pharmacy may discipline.
License Discipline Effect of Controlled Substances Crimes
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-21 permits discipline based on criminal violation of state or federal drug, controlled substance, or poison law. Controlled substances crimes would involve unlawful drug possession, distribution, or manufacture. Drug crimes could include drug diversion, dispensing violations, and dispensing records. Drug crimes could also include impaired driving. Poison crimes may include drug poisoning and mislabeling crimes. We may be able to defend these crimes by showing that your conviction was not among them, the court set aside or expunged your conviction, you received a pardon, you rehabilitated your character and fitness, you no longer have any drug dependency or addiction issue, you relied on an authoritative interpretation of ambiguous laws, and that your crime harmed no one and was only a technical violation you have corrected and won’t repeat.
License Discipline Effect of Hawaii Pharmacy-Related Crimes
Hawaii Board of Pharmacy Rule 16-95-32 permits discipline based on criminal conviction relating to pharmacy practice. The above drug and controlled substance crimes all relate to pharmacy practice. Other practice-related crimes could include insurance fraud, public healthcare program fraud, kickback schemes, pill mills, and dispensing records violations. Your conviction for drunk driving or drunk and disorderly conduct could also relate to pharmacy practice if the conviction suggests your impairment for practice. We may be able to defend these crimes on the same defenses as above while also advocating factors like your clean disciplinary record and strong academic and employment record.
Differences Between Criminal Case Stages
The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy should carry the burden of proof in its disciplinary proceeding against you, meaning the Board should produce sufficient evidence establishing the charge. The Board cannot simply rely on allegations but must have evidence. Depending on how your criminal case resolved, we may be able to hold the Board of Pharmacy accountable to its burden of proof as follows.
License Discipline Effect of Hawaii Criminal Investigation
The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy must not presume discipline from your criminal investigation if you did not face criminal arrest, charge, or conviction. Reasonable suspicion is enough for criminal investigation, but suspicion is not evidence and does not satisfy the Board of Pharmacy’s evidentiary burden in its disciplinary proceeding.
License Discipline Effect of Hawaii Criminal Arrest
The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy must also not presume discipline from your criminal arrest, if you did not face criminal charges and conviction. Probable cause is enough for arrest, but probable cause is not evidence and does not satisfy the Board of Pharmacy’s evidentiary burden in its disciplinary proceeding.
License Discipline Effect of Hawaii Criminal Charge
The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy must also not presume discipline from your criminal charge if you did not suffer a conviction. Criminal charges depend only on an expectation that evidence will establish the crime, but an expectation does not satisfy the Board of Pharmacy’s evidentiary burden in its disciplinary proceeding. Prosecutors frequently abandon charges, and courts frequently dismiss charges for lack of evidence.
License Discipline Effect of Hawaii Criminal Conviction
The Hawaii Board of Pharmacy presumes discipline grounds only from your conviction. We may still be able to show the above defenses in your disciplinary proceeding based on your criminal conviction.
Hawaii Pharmacist’s Duty to Report Crime Issues
Hawaii Board of Pharmacy Rule 16-95-21 requires license applicants and renewal applicants to disclose their criminal history. The same rule further requires licensees to update their application with any changes within ten days of the change. You may therefore owe the Board of Pharmacy the duty to notify it of your criminal conviction within ten days of its entry. Let us help you determine your reporting requirements and comply with those requirements. Failure to properly disclose your conviction could result in discipline for credential fraud.
Hawaii Pharmacist Licensing Procedures
Hawaii Pharmacy Practice Act Section 461-21 expressly incorporates the Hawaii Administrative Procedure Act. The Procedure Act requires the Board of Pharmacy to offer you an administrative hearing. You also have an administrative appeal and limited right to civil court review under the Procedure Act. We can invoke your formal hearing, appeals, and court review for your best disciplinary outcome.
Premier Hawaii Pharmacist License Defense
You can do no better than to retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team to defend your Hawaii Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges related to your criminal issues. We help hundreds of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in Hawaii and nationwide successfully defend their disciplinary charges. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our highly qualified defense.