Nurse Forges Prescriptions for 4000+ Pills and Gets Off
We’ve talked recently about people who leverage their drug addiction to take time off their sentence when they are arrested for doing something either in service to or because of their issues with drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana, alcohol, prescription drugs and others. Usually, the way it works is that if someone commits a crime while under the influence or if they committed a crime in order to procure more of their drug of choice, then they can take a percentage of time off of their sentence if they enroll in drug rehab. The amount of time off their sentence will vary according to state law, the crime they committed and the number of times they have been arrested.
It’s unusual, however, for someone to avoid jail time altogether the way nurse Sherri Anne Silva did recently, according to Leslie Slape at The Daily News Online.
Forging Prescription Drugs: Sign of Addiction
One of the signs of prescription drug addiction is the constant search for more of your drug of choice. Whether you go “doctor shopping” in order to get multiple doctors to give you multiple prescriptions or forge prescriptions by changing an existing prescription or stealing a prescription pad, either of these actions are irrefutable: if you’re doing this, you have a prescription drug addiction and you need drug detox and rehab.
Silva was accused of forging prescriptions in the amount of more than 4000 pills. If all of those pills were for her and she wasn’t distributing them in any way, then it’s a clear sign that she is indeed struggling with drug addiction. This helps her case in terms of getting time off her sentence for her behavior. The sheer number of pills, however, makes this an exceptional case: why is it that the act of forgery or fraud done even once lands most people in jail but in this case-done multiple times for thousands of pills-there are a list of court-ordered requirements, but no prison time.
Forging Prescription Drugs: Not Without Consequences
Just because Silva avoided jail time, though, doesn’t mean that she isn’t suffering the consequences of her actions. For one thing, Silva is no longer employed by PeaceHealth St. John’s Workplace Wellness clinic, where she was the manager and the place where she is “accused of stealing a doctor’s prescription pad, signature stamp and Drug Enforcement Administration number stamp from a locked cabinet at PeaceHealth St. John’s Workplace Wellness clinic. She then filled forged prescriptions for Vicodin at various pharmacies in Kelso and Kalama 19 times between November and February, when a pharmacist told police,” according to The Daily News Online.
She has been admitted into a diversion program in which she is required to enter drug rehab. She will stay out of jail as long as she breaks no more laws and comply with other court orders, including remaining employed at least part time, use no illegal drugs, take all medications exactly as prescribed, comply with nursing board requirements, and submit to random drug testing. When she successfully completes her diversion program, all charges will be dropped. If she doesn’t complete the program, the charges against her will be filed again and she will be found guilty based on a written confession and stipulation she signed at the end of last month.
