Perryville druggist arrested on federal narcotics charges

Pharmacist Christopher Watson, who operates the Perry County Food and Drug Store in Perryville with his father, has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of illegally selling narcotics, including hydrocodone and Alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent, working in an undercover role, presented a fabricated prescription for those drugs to Watson on Nov. 7 at the pharmacy, according to an affidavit written Nov. 23 in support of an arrest warrant.

The affidavit, a copy of which was obtained Thursday, a day after Watson made his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young, said agents fabricated the prescription by using an invalid DEA identification number, the name of a nonexistent medical clinic and a fabricated physician's name.

After reviewing the prescription, Watson told the agent to "work on" the DEA number and then instructed him how to make the prescription look like a valid prescription, according to the affidavit. But instead of giving the prescription back to the agent to make the changes, Watson filled it with 120 hydrocodone pills and 60 Xanax tablets and accepted $130.65 in payment for the pills, the affidavit states.

Hydrocodone is a Schedule II narcotic, and Xanax is a Schedule III narcotic.

Watson has been arrested on a criminal complaint accusing him of the unauthorized distribution of both drugs. He faces possible indictment by a federal grand jury in February.

Metro on 01/30/2015

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