In early 2020, a pharmacist at the Biddeford Walmart refused to fill a man’s oxycodone prescription for dental pain.
She was concerned by his history with substance use disorder after he mentioned he was in recovery. And the prescription appeared outside the usual scope of the woman who had written it – Dr. Merideth Norris, an osteopath in Kennebunk.
The pharmacist, Lori McKeown, was one of the first people to testify in Norris’ two-week trial Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland. The doctor is now facing 16 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances for writing prescriptions that go beyond what prosecutors say is medically necessary.
The federal government’s case against Norris focuses on five patients, whose names are being withheld in court and who will not testify. They include the man McKeown described, who lawyers referred to as “Patient Two.”
“I was concerned for his safety,” McKeown testified. …