Pharmacist placed on probation, fined $1,000

Friday, Oct. 24, 1997 | 10:42 a.m.

Lake, who came from New York and started practicing pharmacy four months ago in Las Vegas, mistakenly gave the boy's mother, Cynthia Chavez, methadone instead of Ritalin, which was prescribed to treat the youngster's attention deficit disorder.

Methadone is used in the treatment of drug addicts. The youngster took the prescribed 11 tablets the first day and started to throw up and suffer dizzy spells.

The second day, he told his mother he felt better, got four more tablets and went to school. But the boy started falling asleep in class and suffered other problems. A school nurse sent him to a hospital emergency room.

Keith Macdonald, executive director of the Pharmacy Board, said Friday a maintenance dose of Methadone for a strong drug addict is 80 milligrams. "Here we have a 10-year-old boy taking 55 milligrams, which is a significant dose," he added.

The board ordered Lake to re-take and pass the pharmacy law examination and complete eight hours of continuing education on the counseling of patients.

In addition, the owners of Med-Net Pharmacy, where Lake worked, were fined $1,000.

archive