Tamarac Pharmacist Allowed To Stay Open Despite Complaints

TAMARAC (CBS4) - A victory for a Tamarac pharmacist tonight.

Hal Goldman will get to keep his business open in spite of complaints by the Broward Sheriff's Office that his pharmacy poses a threat to the community.

"We verify every prescription," Goldman said after commissioners voted unanimously to keep his business open. "We do everything per the law and I think the outcome is appropriate."

Goldman's lawyer told commissioners during the hearing that no other pharmacy's were investigated in the city.

"I feel that he was singled out," attorney Michael Bernstein told Tamarac Commissioners. "He's broken no laws. He's done nothing wrong."

The agreement Goldman's attorney negotiated with the city calls for Goldman to continue selling prescription drugs only to citizens and residents of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

He will continue to do so by asking customers to produce a valid driver's license or valid Florida ID card.

Goldman also promised to continue being diligent in cutting down on doctor shopping - which is when patients obtain multiple prescriptions from different doctors in a short period of time for similar drugs.

Goldman said he will continue helping law enforcement "in their ongoing efforts to address the prescription drug abuse problem."

Goldman's attorney said the amount of oxycodone sold at Generic Depot 3 has declined significantly over the past few months. Bernstein believes that has occurred because federal authorities recently closed several pain management centers in February.

Goldman believes the reason he sells large amounts of oxycodone is because he sells it at a cheaper price than other pharmacy's.

However, this story might not be over. The attorney for the pharmacist said he has sent a notice to BSO that he might sue over some comments made in this case by the BSO Chief  in Tamarac.

"Certain thing were said about him that we feel might not be totally true," Bernstein told commissioners.

Broward Sheriff's Office Chief Mark Duguay told reporters in January that over the past year, BSO has been called to the pharmacy 99 times, made 55 arrests, seized two firearms and also seized more than 6,000 pills.

In addition, Duguay argues that the pharmacy is one of the largest purchasers of oxycodone in the area — ranking 11th in the state.

"He's consistently one of the highest orderers in the nation," Duguay said at the time. "Not in Tamarac, not in the state but in the nation."

BSO also provided photos of lines of people waiting outside the pharmacy. BSO says in the past the pharmacy would service customers from out of state looking for prescription drugs, but now they mainly service people from the South Florida area.

Tamarac City leaders agreed to postpone the hearing on the issue until March 9, at the request of Goldman's attorney.

BSO admits that Goldman is doing nothing illegal and Goldman told reporters he goes above and beyond to screen his customers and even turns in people to authorities who are trying to fill phony prescriptions.

"We've had no incidences that I'm aware of any crimes in our parking lots and surrounding areas that can be directly attributed to people that come to my store," Goldman said.

Goldman said he's filling prescriptions for a legal drug.

"If it's a legitimate medical use there is absolutely no reason for me to not sell it," Goldman said.

One man claimed he's seen cars in the pharmacy parking lot with license plates from states like Kentucky and Tennessee. It's been well documented that people from outside states often travel to Florida in order to doctor shop and get large amounts of prescription drugs due to Florida's lax prescription drug monitoring.

"Just because somebody walks into our store and gets out of a car with a Tennessee plate doesn't mean they're getting a prescription filled in my store," Goldman said.