Pharmacy is a satisfying and financially rewarding healing profession and healthcare career. Massachusetts is a great state in which to practice as a pharmacist, given the state's substantial population, strong economy, and sophisticated healthcare. Your criminal investigation, arrest, or conviction, though, can trigger Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy license disciplinary charges, resulting in suspension or revocation of your license. Without your Massachusetts pharmacy license, you must not practice as a pharmacist in the state. If you face criminal investigation, arrest, charge, or conviction, promptly retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team to preserve and protect your pharmacy license against discipline. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our highly qualified license defense representation.
Massachusetts Pharmacist Criminal Arrests
Massachusetts pharmacists face criminal investigation, arrest, charge, and conviction risks like pharmacists in other states. Of course, pharmacists commit common crimes like drunk driving, domestic violence, and assault, in common with other residents who hold no pharmacy or other healthcare license or employment. You are not immune to the vagaries of life, challenges of character, and temptations of person, just because you hold a pharmacy degree and license for Massachusetts practice. However, pharmacists also commit practice-related crimes, suffering conviction and imprisonment. One Massachusetts pharmacist suffered a felony conviction for causing a meningitis outbreak that resulted in a dozen deaths, due to untested and infected pharmaceuticals. Four other pharmacists suffered felony convictions for a $13 million Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurer fraud. Two other pharmacists suffered felony convictions for drug distribution. And another pharmacist suffered a felony conviction for diverting opioid prescriptions. The list could go on and on. As a pharmacist facing licensing issues relating to alleged crime, you are not alone. Let us help you with your licensing issues.
Massachusetts Pharmacist Licensure Authority
Expect to deal with the rules, regulations, and authority of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy over your license issues relating to alleged crime. Section 24 of the Massachusetts General Laws on pharmacy practice authorizes the Board of Registration to issue a pharmacy license to a qualified candidate who applies. Section 30 of those same pharmacy laws prohibits any person from dispensing pharmaceuticals without a valid license. Each violation can result in criminal conviction, incarceration for up to three months, and a $500 fine. Section 36 provides a stiffer sentence of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for unlicensed sale or wholesale of drugs. Don't expect to practice pharmacy without a valid license. Instead, let our attorneys help you defend your license against criminal charge issues.
Massachusetts Pharmacist Licensure Requirements
You must continue to meet the legal requirements for licensure to retain your Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy license. Section 24 of the Massachusetts General Laws on pharmacy practice requires that you graduate from an approved pharmacy program, pass the pharmacy licensing exam, and show your competency and fitness for pharmacy practice. Board of Registration in Pharmacy Rule 3.01, codified at 247 CMR 3.01, imposes an explicit good moral character requirement. Criminal convictions indicating a propensity for violence, moral turpitude, or unfitness for pharmacy practice can implicate the continuing good moral character requirement. Let us help if you suspect that your criminal investigation may subject your license to non-renewal or other discipline.
Massachusetts Pharmacist License Discipline
Section 42A of the Massachusetts General Laws on pharmacy practice authorizes the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy to adopt rules for the discipline of pharmacy licenses. The Board of Registration in Pharmacy did so in 247 CMR 10.03, listing extensive grounds for discipline. Those grounds include being “convicted of any crime,” no matter the form of conviction or plea, or “admitting to sufficient facts to warrant a finding of guilty of any crime.” The grounds for discipline further include any act violating pharmacy standards, any illegal distribution of controlled substances, or any act indicating unfitness for pharmacy practice. Discipline is discretionary with the Board of Registration. The rule states that the Board “may” discipline, leaving it to the Board to determine what criminal acts or convictions qualify for license suspension, revocation, or other discipline. While the Board of Registration's discretion may seem concerning to you, that discretion enables our attorneys to advocate for your case in mitigation of sanctions, even if you must admit to having committed a crime or suffered a criminal conviction.
Differences Among Arrest, Charge, and Conviction
Various factors influence the outcome of a Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy disciplinary proceeding based on a criminal act, conviction, or issue. As the following sections explain, one factor that may most influence your licensing matter's outcome is whether you are only under criminal investigation, have also suffered criminal arrest, face criminal charges, or have already suffered criminal conviction.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Criminal Investigation
Criminal investigation is the first of the four stages of a criminal proceeding. Criminal investigation is generally the least significant of those four stages, so far as raising pharmacy licensing concerns. Plenty of criminal investigations proceed only on allegations or observations of potentially suspicious activity. Your vehicle briefly crossing the centerline might be an example, leading to a traffic stop to investigate for unlawful intoxication. The stop may readily dispel the suspicion, leaving the Board of Registration in Pharmacy with zero licensing concern. On the other hand, a criminal investigation of a colleague's reports that you diverted prescriptions could raise serious licensing concerns. Get our help evaluating and responding to licensing issues that may arise from your criminal investigation.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Criminal Arrest
Criminal arrests can lead to greater licensing concerns for the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy. Arrests generally proceed only on probable cause to believe that the arrestee has committed the crime for which the officer made the arrest. Probable cause involves more than a mere allegation or suspicion. It generally requires a reasonable belief arising out of specific observations that the arrestee committed the suspected crime. Thus, an officer observing a stopped driver's slurred words and smelling alcohol on the driver's breath could be probable cause to arrest for drunk driving. The arrestee might not be legally intoxicated, but the officer would have grounds for arrest and testing. Likewise, the Board of Registration in Pharmacy could draw licensing concerns over alcohol abuse and disregard for safety laws from a drunk driving arrest, even if police and prosecutors do not follow up with formal criminal charges. Let us help you address licensing issues arising out of your criminal arrest.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Criminal Charge
A criminal charge following your arrest would generally bring significantly greater Board of Registration in Pharmacy licensing concerns. Prosecutors generally require admissible evidence sufficient to establish the crime beyond a reasonable doubt when filing criminal charges. The Board of Registration could take that evidence to support a license suspension, even if the prosecutor later abandoned the criminal charge or the court did not convict. The charge may also alert the Board of Registration disciplinary officials to the suspected licensing violation or licensee unfitness. Let us help you address licensing issues arising out of your criminal charge.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Criminal Conviction
A criminal conviction following your charges carries the greatest risk of Board of Registration in Pharmacy license discipline. A criminal conviction generally requires either the defendant's guilty plea or a judge or jury finding that the defendant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Board of Registration in Pharmacy disciplinary officials may further construe the conviction itself as establishing the grounds for license discipline, without having to investigate, present, and accept other factual proof. Let us help you address licensing issues arising out of your criminal conviction. All is not necessarily lost on conviction, so far as your pharmacy license is concerned, as the following discussion shows.
Differences Among Specific Crimes
Another factor influencing the disciplinary outcome of your Board of Registration in Pharmacy is the nature of the crime you allegedly committed, whether drawn from your criminal investigation, arrest, charge, or conviction, or the underlying evidence or your admission. Consider how our attorneys may be able to help you defend your license against any of the following categories of criminal allegations.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Crimes Relating to Pharmacy
Crimes directly connected with pharmacy practice are the most likely to affect your Board of Registration in Pharmacy license. Those crimes may include drug diversion, illegal dispensing of drugs, Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurer fraud, and deliberate indifference or recklessness in the dispensing of the wrong drugs, causing injury or death. Although these crimes are the most likely to result in license suspension or revocation, we may be able to show either that you did not commit the crime or that your technical misconduct had compelling mitigating factors or extenuating circumstances, since relieved and remediated.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Felony Crimes
Felony crimes are also relatively more likely to cause the Board of Registration in Pharmacy to scrutinize your license and license discipline. Felony crimes generally carry a sentence of incarceration for at least one year, making them more serious crimes in the legislature's view than misdemeanor crimes. We may, though, be able to show that your alleged felony crime bore no relationship to pharmacy practice and exposed no pharmacy customer to any risk of harm.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Violent Crimes
Violent crimes like homicides, assault with a deadly weapon, sexual assault, and domestic violence also bear a reasonable likelihood of Board of Registration in Pharmacy license discipline because of the risk that a pharmacist's violent tendencies could create for pharmacy customers and staff members. We may, though, be able to demonstrate that your alleged violence did not occur or occurred only under an extraordinary compelling circumstance that is unlikely to occur again or in pharmacy practice. We may alternatively be able to show that you have no violent propensity.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Crimes of Dishonesty
Crimes involving dishonesty, like criminal fraud, embezzlement, theft, and conversion, can create a significant risk to the Board of Registration in Pharmacy license discipline. Pharmacists handle dangerous and valuable drugs, money, account information, personally identifiable health information, insurance claims, and other significant financial interests and administrative concerns, all requiring trust, confidence, accuracy, and honesty. Customers and the public may not trust a pharmacist with theft and embezzlement issues. We may, though, be able to defend such criminal allegations with evidence that you did not commit the alleged crime, are pardoned or rehabilitated from the crime occurring long ago, or with other mitigating context.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Crimes of Moral Turpitude
Crimes of moral turpitude, like indecent exposure, public lewdness, and solicitation to prostitution, bear some risk of Board of Registration in Pharmacy license discipline because of the close customer relationships that pharmacy practice can entail and the moral influence a pharmacist may gain over vulnerable customers. We may, though, be able to show that you did not commit the alleged crime, you have been rehabilitated from the matter, or that it exposes no customer to any particular risk.
Potential Licensing Effect of Massachusetts Crimes of Impairment
Crimes suggesting a pharmacist's drug or alcohol impairment, like drunk driving, can create a significant risk of Board of Registration in Pharmacy license discipline because of a pharmacist's access to commonly abused and narcotic controlled substances. We may be able to show that you were not impaired, your impairment was a one-time event unrelated to any addiction or habit of abuse, or that you have addressed your issues with appropriate diagnosis, counseling, and treatment.
Massachusetts Pharmacist's Duty to Report Criminal Issues
You or your pharmacy employer may have a duty to report your criminal conviction to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy. While you may not owe an affirmative duty to disclose criminal investigation, arrest, or charge, your license renewal application and process will generally require you to accurately respond to requests for updated qualifying and disqualifying information, including convictions. Your conviction may also lead to a direct Board of Registration in Pharmacy inquiry, to which you must respond truthfully and accurately, at risk of credential fraud charges for any attempt to conceal the conviction. Let us help you with disclosure issues. Timing and context may be everything.
Massachusetts Pharmacist Licensing Procedures
You have a right to constitutional due process when facing a Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy discipline relating to criminal charges. Section 11 of the Massachusetts Administrative Procedure Act defines adjudicatory procedures for contested agency cases. We can strategically and effectively invoke those procedures to present your defense to any license discipline charges.
Premier Massachusetts Pharmacist License Defense
If you are a pharmacist licensed for practice in Massachusetts and have suffered criminal arrest, charge, or conviction, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your best licensing outcome. We have helped hundreds of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in Massachusetts and nationwide successfully resolve licensing issues. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our skilled and experienced attorney representation.
