Home » Santa Clarita News » Crime » Newhall Pharmacy License Suspended Amid Allegations Of Mishandling Opioid Prescriptions

Newhall Pharmacy License Suspended Amid Allegations Of Mishandling Opioid Prescriptions

Newhall Pharmacy on Main Street has had their license suspended after allegations of mishandling opioid medications, officials said Tuesday.

Several complaints against the pharmacy led to the license suspension of the Pharmacist-in-Charge Charles M. Zandberg and Owner Jenisa Chowdhury, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs.

Chowdhury was a “silent partner” in the business, with Zandberg managing the day-to-day operations, according to Moazzem Chowdhury, her father and the current pharmacist.

“Charles was the main person in charge of the business,” said Moazzem Chowdhury. “He is no longer the pharmacist-in-charge.”

In April 2015, the California Board of Pharmacy received an anonymous online complaint involving Newhall Pharmacy’s acquisition and dispensing of certain controlled substances.

According to Moazzem, this complaint came from a “disgruntled employee” who made the claim after being laid off.

“Among other things, the complaint alleged that Newhall Pharmacy was selling oxycodone pills and codeine-laced cough syrup to people without a prescription,” reads the inspection.

Oxycodone, known under the brand name of Oxycontin, and promethazine with codeine are commonly abused controlled substances with significant “street values,” according to the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Federal law requires pharmacies to complete and maintain an “initial inventory” of “any and all controlled substances in its stock as of the first day on which the pharmacy begins dispensing controlled substances” and also requires that subsequent “biennial inventories” be performed at least every two years thereafter.

In August 2015, a board inspector performed an inspection of Newhall Pharmacy. Among other things, the inspector asked to review Newhall Pharmacy’s controlled substance inventories, according to officials.

Although Newhall Pharmacy had been in operation since September 2012 and had been dispensing controlled substances since that time, it was discovered that the pharmacy had allegedly never performed an initial controlled substance inventory, and the only controlled substance inventory available was incomplete, dated May 1, 2015, officials said.

After being issued with a notice of non-compliance, Newhall Pharmacy provided a complete controlled substance inventory to the California Board of Pharmacy on August 17, 2015.

In connection with the inspection, the acquisition records were made available to the inspector, who discovered an alleged major disparity between the legally documented inventory of controlled substances and the actual inventory of the pharmacy, according to officials.

The inspection revealed multiple alleged discrepancies between the amount of oxycodone according to actual prescriptions versus the amount dispensed according to the pharmacy’s dispensing records and the number of prescriptions and quantity dispensed as reported to the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES).

Specifically, the records alleged that Newhall Pharmacy was short in its inventory of oxycodone (30 mg) by 2,748 pills, short of oxycodone/apap (7.5-325 mg) by 400 pills, short of oxycodone (10 mg) by 85 pills, short of oxycodone (15 mg) pills by 40 pills, and short in its inventory of promethazine with codeine by 322 bottles (i.e. more than 152,000 ml).

In addition, Newhall Pharmacy could also allegedly not account for the significant presence of large amounts of other controlled substances, according to officials.

For example, Newhall Pharmacy’s inventory reportedly included 1,025 oxycodone/apap (10-325 mg) pills, and 828 oxycodone/apap (5-325 mg) pills, neither of which had any records explaining their presence, officials said.

Additionally, the Newhall Pharmacy allegedly could not produce the original prescriptions for oxycodone that it had filled in three instances, indicating that the pharmacy had dispensed the drugs without prescriptions, according to the report.

The conclusion of the case declared that Jenisa Chowdhury and Zandberg were prohibited from serving as a “manager, administrator, owner, member, officer, director, associate or partner of a licensee” for five years, as the Pharmacy Permit had been revoked.

The report states that Newhall Pharmacy, Inc., Chowdhury and Zandberg are jointly obligated to pay reasonable costs of the investigation and enforcement of the case.

Jenisa Chowdury voluntarily offered to settle with the Board and close Newhall Pharmacy by June 27, 2019, and a new management group has applied to continue the operation under her father, Moazzem Chowdury.

“Zandberg did not document all of the break-ins as burglaries that happened from November 2012 to March 2015,” said Moazzem in a statement. “It was too late when Jenisa Chowdury found out after the inspection to take any action.”

Jenisa Chowdury was not forced to give up her license, however Zandberg has surrendered his, as it was his responsibility as Pharmacist-in-Charge to ensure that the business followed the complete California State Board of Pharmacy policy, according to Moazzem.


Sponsored Articles


Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to newstip@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

KHTS FM 98.1 & AM 1220 - Santa Clarita News - Santa Clarita Radio

Newhall Pharmacy License Suspended Amid Allegations Of Mishandling Opioid Prescriptions

2 comments

  1. No one has lost anything, this is from 11/11/17. Why is this suddenly CURRENT news?

  2. Good job uncovering this illegal operation. The owners knew exactly what was happening as did the pharmacist involved. Let’s stop this opiate invasion, report those you suspect!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Devon Miller

Devon Miller was born and raised in Santa Clarita. He joined KHTS Radio as a digital marketing intern in September of 2017, and later moved to news as a staff writer in December. Miller attended College of the Canyons and served as the Associated Student Government President. Miller is now News Director for KHTS, covering breaking news and politics across the Santa Clarita Valley.