Doctor's Drug Cocktail —Texas Physician Convicted of Handing Out Opioid Cocktail to Nearly Every Patient

The Justice Department announced the conviction of practicing physician from Texas on May 3 for illegally distributing controlled substances under the guise of prescription medicine. These included dangerous controlled substances such as opioids.

An investigation by the National Fraud Enforcement Division found that the medical practitioner prioritized personal profit over patient care. She was described as a drug dealer disguised as a doctor who carried out medical malpractice from an otherwise ordinary-looking clinic.

Barbara Marino, a 65-year-old doctor from Tomball, was found guilty by a jury in the Southern District of Texas. She was the only physician at Angels Clinica, a cash-only clinic in a Houston strip mall. She was thus able to earn and abuse the trust of many patients.

During her practice, Marino gave patients an addictive drug cocktail of oxycodone and hydrocodone as pain medicine. Evidence showed that she prescribed almost every patient the same dangerous combination. The use of this mixture has often been prevalent among pill mills. The physician blatantly ignored the life-threatening circumstances its use could lead to.

Court documents revealed that she acquired these controlled substances from street dealers. They were the ones who brought in patients to her clinic. In some extreme cases, many of her patients were even transported to the clinic where she prescribed these drugs to them.

These street dealers were the ones who then filled the prescriptions and handed over the pills illegally. During her continued and undetected malpractice, the physician reportedly pocketed a $400,000 in less than a year from the owners of the clinic.

One of the more alarming examples of patient risk in Dr. Marino’s case involved a pregnant woman who was in her third trimester. The physician willingly prescribed her the dangerous drug cocktail. The pregnant woman’s OB-GYN later testified that the patient and her unborn child faced serious health risks to their health as a result.

A second patient who was notified during the course of the trial was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. He visited Marino, who, despite knowing his condition, prescribed him the same drug combination more than three times.

The DEA Assistant Administrator highlighted the failures in the medical system at play. It gave physicians like her the opportunity to continue medical malpractice. Cheri Oz stated, “The highly addictive, dangerous misused drugs in this case – oxycodone and hydrocodone – are meant to treat pain, not cause it. DEA remains relentless in our pursuit of those who poison our communities and exploit our health care system, all to line their own pockets with the profit from others’ pain.”

The Texas physician was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Additionally, she was convicted of four counts of distributing a controlled substance. Given those charges, she can face up to 20 years in prison for each count.

Her final sentencing is scheduled to be handed down by a federal judge. Meanwhile, a thorough investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration is also underway.