You have every right and reason to expect a substantial return from your pharmacy practice in Nevada. The state’s very strong economy, large population, and sophisticated healthcare creates substantial pharmacy practice and employment opportunities. You should never lack for work as a pharmacist, as long as you can keep your license and a clean disciplinary record. That’s why your criminal issues should be so concerning to you. You may face Nevada Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges relating to your criminal arrest, charge, and conviction. Beware of your professional risks. Protect your professional investment. Retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team for your best outcome to Nevada Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges. We are available in Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno, Enterprise, Spring Valley, Sunrise Manor, Paradise, Sparks, Carson City, Whitney, or any other Nevada location. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our experienced and effective license defense representation.
Nevada Pharmacist Criminal Arrests
You are not alone if you face criminal issues in Nevada. Nevada has property crime and violent crime rates significantly higher than the national averages. Together, those rates approach 3,000 crimes per 100,000 people, when the national average is closer to 2,000 crimes per 100,000 people. Property crimes like shoplifting and theft predominate, but crimes against the person like assault and robbery, and crimes against society like drunk driving and drug crimes, are also common. Nevada pharmacists are not immune to committing crimes and facing criminal conviction. See, for example, the federal conviction of a Nevada pharmacist for healthcare fraud. Pharmacists have suffered criminal convictions elsewhere for pill mills or schemes, obstructing justice, communicable disease, government program and private insurer fraud, illegal drug distribution, and diverting opioid prescriptions. Pharmacists can also face the Nevada Board of Pharmacy discipline for non-pharmacy crimes that create practice risks. See the Nevada Board of Pharmacy’s searchable online database of its published disciplinary decisions. Let us help you with your Nevada pharmacy license defense related to your criminal issues.
Nevada Pharmacist Licensure Authority
The Nevada Pharmacy Practice Act regulates pharmacists within the state. Nevada Statutes Section 639.070 grants the Nevada Board of Pharmacy the authority to issue pharmacist licenses. You must have a pharmacist license to practice in the state. Nevada Statutes Section 639.100 makes unlicensed pharmacy practice a Category C or D felony crime, depending on whether bodily harm resulted. Felony conviction can result in a minimum jail sentence of one year and a fine of up to $5,000 or $10,000. Losing your Nevada Board of Pharmacy license due to disciplinary charges will also cost your pharmacy employment and practice. You may also not be able to gain or hold a pharmacy license in another state if the Nevada Board of Pharmacy revokes your license. Don’t ignore or minimize your criminal issues and how they may affect your pharmacy license. Let us help defend and defeat your disciplinary charges.
Nevada Pharmacist Licensure Requirements
To gain a license from the Nevada Board of Pharmacy, Nevada Statutes Section 639.120 requires that you complete an accredited program of education, pass the pharmacy examination, complete 1,500 hours of supervised practice experience, and prove your good moral character. Nevada Code Section 639.210 further authorizes the Nevada Board of Pharmacy to deny or refuse to renew a pharmacist’s license based on the grounds for disciplining a license. Those grounds include several different kinds of criminal convictions. Your criminal issues place your pharmacy license at risk under these statutes. Let us help you defend your license against Nevada Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges.
Nevada Pharmacist License Discipline for Crime
The Nevada Pharmacy Practice Act clearly grants the Nevada Board of Pharmacy the authority to discipline pharmacist licenses. Nevada Code Section 639.210 authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to discipline a licensed pharmacist up to suspending or revoking the license. The Board of Pharmacy staffs its agency to solicit and investigate disciplinary complaints and to pursue disciplinary charges. Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 lists the grounds on which the Board of Pharmacy may discipline your license, including these five categories of criminal conviction:
- violation of controlled substances laws;
- violations of laws on the wholesale or retail distribution of drugs;
- felony crimes relating to pharmacy practice;
- crimes involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption; and
- violations of certain laws regarding operating pharmacies.
Nevada Pharmacy Board Disciplinary Discretion
While your criminal conviction may subject you to Nevada Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges, the Board of Pharmacy has discretion whether or not to discipline you for any of the above criminal convictions. Nevada Code Section 639.210 states only that the Board of Pharmacy may discipline a licensed pharmacist on the above grounds, not that it must discipline your license. Board of Pharmacy discretion gives our attorneys the opportunity to argue factors like your age and maturity, how long ago the offense occurred, your remedial measures and rehabilitation, your clean disciplinary record, character witnesses on your behalf, and your strong employment record.
Disciplinary Differences Among Specific Crimes
The charges on which you suffer conviction can also influence your disciplinary outcome. Here’s how our attorneys may be able to defend you on each of the five crime categories for which the Nevada Board of Pharmacy may discipline.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Drug Crimes
Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 includes violation of controlled substances laws as a crime category warranting Board of Pharmacy discipline. These crimes may involve unlawful possession, distribution, and manufacture of controlled substances. We may be able to show that your conviction was not for a drug crime, the court or executive relieved you of the conviction, you completed your sentence and rehabilitated your character, the crime was unrelated to pharmacy practice, the crime involved your misunderstanding of an ambiguous application of drug laws, or your conviction involved extenuating circumstances unlikely ever to repeat.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Drug Distribution Crimes
Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 also includes violation of wholesale or retail drug distribution laws as a crime category warranting Board of Pharmacy discipline. These crimes may involve dispensing laws, recordkeeping laws, pricing laws, and disclosure laws. We may be able to show that you did not violate this type of law, you made a mistaken interpretation of technical issues reasonably relying on the advice of others, the court or executive relieved you of the conviction, you have completed rehabilitation, you are safe and fit for practice, and your actions caused no one any harm.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Practice-Related Felonies
Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 includes felony crimes relating to pharmacy practice as a crime category warranting Board of Pharmacy discipline. Felony crimes relating to pharmacy practice would primarily be drug distribution and controlled substances laws falling into the above categories. Other common felonies like homicide, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery do not relate to pharmacy practice but would be obvious disciplinary concerns under other provisions having to do with unprofessional conduct. We may be able to show that the court or executive relieved you of the conviction, the conviction was not a felony, the conviction did not relate to pharmacy practice, you acted in reasonable reliance on interpretations of ambiguous technical provisions, you have completed rehabilitation, and you present no practice risk.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Immorality Crimes
Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 includes crimes of moral turpitude, dishonesty, or corruption as a crime category warranting Board of Pharmacy discipline. Crimes in this category could include criminal fraud, theft, embezzlement, corruption of a minor, solicitation to prostitution, sexual assault, and indecent exposure or public lewdness. We may be able to show that your crime did not involve immorality, the court or executive relieved you of the conviction, your crime caused no harm to customers or others, or you rehabilitated your moral character.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Pharmacy Operation Crimes
Nevada Statutes Section 639.210 includes crimes regarding operating pharmacies as a crime category warranting Board of Pharmacy discipline. These crimes, as the referenced statutes define them, have to do with how pharmacies compete and maintain their licenses and relationships. We may be able to show that you made technical violations reasonably relying on authoritative interpretations, you corrected the violations as soon as discovered, your violations caused no harm, you rehabilitated your good character and fitness, and you present no pharmacy practice risk.
Differences Between Criminal Case Stages
The stage that your criminal proceeding reached should also matter in determining whether and how the Nevada Board of Pharmacy pursues disciplinary charges. Our attorneys can hold the Board of Pharmacy to its burden of proof on disciplinary charges as follows.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Criminal Investigation
The Nevada Board of Pharmacy should give your criminal investigation without any follow-up arrest, charge, or conviction any consideration. The circumstances leading to the criminal investigation may also trigger a disciplinary investigation, but we may be able to show the Board of Pharmacy investigators that your criminal investigation led to no charges, turned up no evidence of your wrongdoing, and was mistaken. Police investigate only on reasonable suspicion, while the Board of Pharmacy must establish disciplinary charges on reliable evidence.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Criminal Arrest
The Nevada Board of Pharmacy should likewise give your criminal arrest without charge or conviction no consideration. Once again, the circumstances leading to your arrest may trigger a disciplinary investigation. But we may be able to show that the fact of your release without criminal charge or conviction shows the error of your arrest, which need only have been on probable cause, not reliable evidence of actual wrongdoing.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Criminal Charge
The Nevada Board of Pharmacy should likewise give no consideration to your criminal charge if the prosecutor abandoned it or the court dismissed it without a conviction. The charges may have lacked sufficient evidence or may have involved a violation of your constitutional rights. We may also be able to show that you committed no underlying violation and that you are not a pharmacy practice risk.
License Discipline Effect of Nevada Criminal Conviction
The Nevada Board of Pharmacy may, on the other hand, construe your criminal conviction as establishing that you committed the crime. Yet we may be able to show that the court or executive relieved you of the conviction, your conviction was not for a qualifying criminal offense warranting discipline, or you rehabilitated your character and fitness for pharmacy practice.
Nevada Pharmacist’s Duty to Report Criminal Issues
Nevada Administrative Code Section 639.229 requires you to report to the Nevada Board of Pharmacy a criminal conviction within thirty days of its entry. We can help you make a timely report of your conviction with appropriate disclosures and context to ensure your best opportunity to avoid disciplinary charges or sanctions based on the disclosure. Do not conceal a reportable criminal conviction. Doing so may risk disciplinary charges for credential fraud.
Nevada Pharmacist Licensing Procedures
Nevada Statutes Sections 639.241 et seq. detail the protective procedures the Nevada Board of Pharmacy must follow to afford you constitutional due process. We can invoke those procedures to seek voluntary dismissal of the charges at a conciliation conference showing your remedial measures and rehabilitation. If necessary, we can invoke your right to a formal hearing at which to present your exonerating and mitigating evidence. If you have already lost your formal hearing, let us take your available administrative appeal and seek civil court relief as necessary.
Premier Nevada Pharmacist License Defense
If you face Nevada Board of Pharmacy disciplinary charges relating to your criminal issues, your best move is to retain the LLF National Law Firm’s premier Professional License Defense Team for skilled, strategic, and effective license defense. We help hundreds of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals in Nevada and nationwide successfully resolve their disciplinary charges. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our premier attorney representation.