Feds Expand "Pill Mill" Investigation Against Alabama Psychiatrist James Edwards

September 17, 2019

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - A federal grand jury returned a five count superseding indictment against Lee County psychiatrist James Edwards.

Edwards was arrested in July in an ongoing federal pill mill investigation.

The indictment states Edwards was prescribing dangerous amounts of controlled substances to patients outside the usual course of medical care.

At the time of Edwards' arrest, he was operating practices in Opelika and Gulf Shores.

Court records indicate a doctor and multiple pharmacists lodged complaints against Edwards to sound the alarm on his reportedly excessive prescribing habits. Currently, Wal-Mart has a corporate policy against filling Edwards’ prescriptions due to his “prescribing practices.”

Court records cite Edwards prescribed excessive doses of stimulants, describing the documentation in some patients’ medical records as “barely minimal.”

Edwards was first indicted in July on three counts of drug distribution for records related to three patients. The superseding indictment builds on those charges, adding two counts.

Edwards is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Source: “Case against Lee County psychiatrist charged in pill mill investigation expands,” WSFA 12 News (Montgomery, AL), September 16, 2019. URL: https://www.wtvm.com/2019/09/16/case-against-lee-county-psychiatrist-charged-pill-mill-investigation-expands/