AN IRISH pharmacist has narrowly avoided a prison sentence after pleading guilty to siphoning off prescription medications to share with his social group.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard John O'Meara, 42, was a "Jekyll and Hyde type of character" with a "party lifestyle" who fell in with the wrong crowd.
O'Meara lodged a guilty plea yesterday to charges relating to the possession of prescription tablets for sale or supply at his home on 24 Aug 2018, when police found 1,700 Xanax tablets and 330 Ritalin tablets.
The Court heard O'Meara was suspended from practicing as a pharmacist since Sep 2019, following an investigation into the three pharmacies he owns by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.
Judge Pauline Codd said O'Meara's actions had breached the trust members of the public have in pharmacists.
Issuing an 18-month suspended sentence, Judge Codd said she was taking into account the pharmacist's "particular vulnerabilities" from a young age and evidence that he was "using the supply of drugs as a means of sustaining friendships", BreakingNews.ie reported.
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