GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Over 41,000 opioid and benzodiazepine tablets are missing and a Kentwood vet cannot prescribe controlled substances for 5 years, says the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten.
Ronald E. Zylstra, D.V.M. also owes $35K in civil penalties—an amount negotiated down from a higher fine Zylstra could not pay— and the DEA will monitor the practice for the next half-decade.
It’s all part of a deal stuck after an audit found the Kentwood Veterinary Clinic wasn’t keeping accurate records of the comings and goings of Schedule II controlled substances, leading to the large deficit.
“Practitioners who dispense controlled substances must adhere to their recordkeeping obligations under federal law, which are critical to preventing and detecting diversion,” wrote Totten.
Totten underlined these penalties were part of a Consent Decree, not criminal proceedings, telling FOX 17 the claims are ‘allegations only and there has been no determination of liability’.
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