Memphis psychiatrist

Commercial Appeal
Memphis psychiatrist arrested as part of federal opioid crackdown sentenced to 4 years in prison
By Corinne S Kennedy
October 30, 2020

–Excerpt

A Memphis psychiatrist was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for unlawfully distributing opioids.

Richard Farmer, 83, was found guilty earlier this year for three counts of distribution of controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose.

U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee D. Michael Dunavant’s office announced the sentencing Friday and Dunavant called opioid abuse “an insidious epidemic created in large part by the over-prescribing and diversion of potent opioids.”

“This sentence demonstrates our ability and resolve to aggressively prosecute and hold accountable any medical personnel who misuse their positions of trust to exploit the very people coming to them for help,” he said in a news release…