In the war on drugs, it often seems that the police are operating on an “arrest now, ask questions later” policy. It certainly appears that’s what happened in the case of Dallas resident Anne Lenhart, who was arrested for trying to fill her pain medication refill at a local CVS.
Lenhart has a severe leg injury. She shattered her knee when falling from a waterfall while on a charity mission in Haiti. While there she underwent reconstructive surgery with no general anesthesia. Upon her return to the States, she was admitted to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas.
She was prescribed a “high, heavy duty narcotic” for pain, called Norco. She had used up her one-month’s supply after four weeks and called the local CVS to let them know she needed a refill.
According to CBS DFW, the pharmacy asked Lenhart what time she would be there to pick it up. Though she thought this was strange, she didn’t give it a second thought until she was met at the pharmacy by Dallas Police.
She arrived at CVS on crutches, with a permanent IV in her arm. She was driven by a friend because she is yet unable to drive with her knee injury.
She was arrested and told they had reason to believe she had obtained the prescription by fraud, possibly forging it.
The police told her that they were contacting her physician. She was taken to jail, where she was held overnight. She was released on bond in the morning and charged with obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, a felony offense.
It wasn’t until later that the police dropped the charges against her, after they learned her prescription was valid—something that should have been done by the pharmacy and the police before the arrest was even made.
It’s believed the pharmacy contacted the wrong physician when determining the validity of the prescription.
Lenhart is suing CVS for false imprisonment, among other things.
It’s understandable that pharmacies and police would like to end prescription drug abuse. But in their zeal, it seems some common sense has fallen by the wayside. Sure, there are plenty of people out there that would forge prescriptions in order to maintain a habit, but Lenhart was not one of those people.
It’s possible to be wrongly accused of a crime, to be wholly innocent of any wrongdoing and to go to jail anyways.
If you are charged with a crime you simply didn’t commit—we may be able to help. Contact our attorneys today to discuss the details of your case and what can be done.
I hope this gal sticks it to CVS, I keep reading these controlled substance articles and the one thing they all have in common is CVS.