A sign for Clearbrook Treatment Centers, located in Laurel Run, is seen in this file photo. Clearbrook and a Lackawanna County pharmacy have agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for allegedly failing to comply with federal drug policies over a period of four years.
                                 Times Leader file photo

A sign for Clearbrook Treatment Centers, located in Laurel Run, is seen in this file photo. Clearbrook and a Lackawanna County pharmacy have agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for allegedly failing to comply with federal drug policies over a period of four years.

Times Leader file photo

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A Luzerne County center for addiction treatment and a Lackawanna County pharmacy have agreed to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties for allegedly failing to comply with federal drug policies over a period of four years.

Under a settlement announced Thursday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Clearbrook Treatment Centers, located in Laurel Run, will pay $300,000; Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., located in Scranton, will pay $250,000.

John C. Gurganus, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said that between December 2016 and April 2021, Andrew Brown’s Drug Store “dispensed prescriptions or made distributions of controlled substances to Clearbrook Treatment Centers in violation of” the Controlled Substances Act.

At the same time, Clearbrook “received distributions from Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. and maintained a general stock of controlled substances for dispensing without being properly registered” with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, the statement from Gurganis continued.

Both organizations “also allegedly failed to keep complete timely and accurate records of their respective distribution and dispensing of those controlled substances,” the statement added.

According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson, the involved substances were Buprenorphine, Suboxone, Chlordiazepoxide, Diazepam, Oxazepam, Phenobarbital and Tramadol.

“We would like to emphasize that we have no reason to suspect that any of these drugs (1) were diverted or (2) administered for anything other than a legitimate medical purpose,” the spokesperson added.

Requests for comment from Clearbrook and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store were not immediately returned Thursday afternoon.

“This settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by Clearbrook Treatment Centers or Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc., nor is it a concession by the United States that its claims are not well founded,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement added.

Clearbrook, an inpatient detox and residential addiction treatment center with facilities on Northampton Street in Laurel Run, has been in operation since 1972. It was acquired by Florida-based Banyan Treatment Centers in 2018.

Andrew Brown’s, which has been in operation for over a century, is located on Pittston Avenue in Scranton.

“Both Clearbrook Treatment Centers and Andrew Brown’s Drug Store, Inc. have fully cooperated with investigators and are working to enhance their internal compliance with the CSA,” Gurganus said. “Fortunately, there are no allegations that any controlled substances were diverted for illegitimate use, and both companies are taking their responsibilities seriously and being proactive to strengthen their systems to protect the proper dispensing of drugs under their control from diversion.”

The investigation was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard D. Euliss, Tamara Haken, and the Affirmative Civil Enforcement (ACE) Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the DEA Philadelphia Field Division.

“Pharmacies and rehabilitation facilities such as Andrew Brown’s Drug Store and Clearbrook are businesses that are integral to the health and overall well-being of our communities. As such, they are also entrusted to properly distribute and keep track of the controlled substances they maintain,” said Thomas Hodnett, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Philadelphia Field Division.

“Civil penalties such as these help to insure adherence to the requirements of the Controlled Substances Act,” Hodnett added.