A Green Township, Ohio, orthopedic surgeon was sentenced March 1 to 40 months in prison for prescribing an excessive amount of opioids, Cincinnati.com reports.
In 2009, the medical license of George Griffin, MD, was suspended for 30 days for overprescribing opioids, but he continued to disregard medical standards related to the prescription of pain medications, according to prosecutors.
Given his prescription history, prosecutors said they saw the surgeon's attempt to run his own dispensary and the high number of workers' compensation cases at his practice as immediate red flags.
The 71-year-old surgeon was at one time the 14th highest prescriber of opioids in Ohio, according to prosecutors. They said Dr. Griffin frequently prescribed oxycodone and morphine.
He was ordered to permanently surrender his medical license and never seek reinstatement.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and Dr. Griffin's medical issues, he will not go to prison until after June 21, according to the report.