Medical lab technician's registration cancelled after selling Oxynorm to teens

A medical laboratory technician sold addictive prescription drugs to teens. Photo/File

A medical laboratory technician has been sent to prison and had her registration cancelled after being convicted of selling highly addictive prescription drugs to teenagers.

The technician, who has name suppression, was last year found guilty in a district court of providing the Class B controlled drug oxycodone hydrochloride, also known as Oxynorm or Oxycontin, to at least six school-age boys who were friends of her son.

The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal decision to cancel her registration was released today.

In July 2015, a college became aware some students were attending school in an intoxicated state which was believed to be a result of drug use.

The school and police identified a group of six 17-year-old boys who had been taking the drug - a synthetic morphine substance.

Three of the boys often visited the technician's house to meet with her son. At that stage the woman had been prescribed, and was taking the drug, for a severe back disorder.

One of the boys asked to try the drug and she obliged.

From there the supply of drugs to the teenagers increased and they started to become addicted. The teens saw an opportunity to make money by working with the technician to sell the drugs to others.

Three others became highly addicted as a result.

Between May and September 2015 the technician supplied the teens on a regular basis, sometimes daily.

She would sell four sheets of pills for $70 and the boys would on-sell them for a profit of $30 to fund their own supply. However, some ran up a huge debt, leading the woman to refuse to sell them more.

The drugs were usually handed over at her home but on one occasion she delivered them to the school and the police were alerted.

When she was told the police were aware of her actions she tried to cover her tracks by deleting incriminating items on her phone.

A police search of the woman's home in October 2015 found a large amount of the drug and empty boxes. She had accumulated a large supply by reducing her own usage.

All of the teenagers were at high risk of overdose. Some became addicted and suffered adverse health effects while others on-sold the drug.

On April 13 last year the technician was sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being convicted of two criminal drug charges.

Sentencing notes from the judge strongly condemned her actions as a "money-spinning operation" with no regard for the effect it was having on others.

"I am in no doubt at all that these victims will suffer the effects of becoming involved with this drug for many years to come. Indeed, as you probably well know, some of them may never recover."

The case was also heard by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in December last year and the tribunal concluded that, while the offending was unrelated to her job, it was so serious she could no longer be deemed fit to practice so her registration was cancelled and she was censured.

She was also ordered to pay $6000 towards the cost of the hearing.