Psychiatrist Dennis Michael O'Conner surrenders license following drug-related conviction

January 11, 2013

On October 29, 2012, psychiatrist Dennis Michael O’ Conner surrendered his license to the Medical Board of California following his May 22, 2012 criminal conviction for prescribing controlled substances to himself in which he was sentenced to 20 days in jail and three years probation.

O’Conner had been detected by an employee at a Safeway pharmacy as attempting to pick up prescriptions for Paxil, Provigil and lithium which he had ordered for a patient who he stated was unable to pick it up but for whom he had no identification and for ordering under his own name. O’Conner alternately identified himself as the patient and as himself. Pharmacy personnel contacted police, who worked it out with the pharmacy to have O’Conner come in to pick up the prescriptions, whereupon he was arrested by police.