CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. – Police shut down a prescription weight-loss clinic in Catoosa County Tuesday after its doctor was arrested for illegally giving out pain pills from the office.
Staff Photo by Joy Lukachick/Chattanooga Times Free Press
The Doctor’s Health Center on Cloud Springs Road was closed Tuesday after police charged Dr. Norman Neal with illegally prescribing pain medication.Dr. Norman Neal, of Cleveland, Tenn., was charged with writing at least 29 blank prescriptions for medications such as hydrocodone after local and federal police raided Doctor’s Health Center on Cloud Springs Road, said Catoosa County Sheriff Phil Summers.
Neal, a former Bradley County medical examiner, also had his medical license revoked by the state, pending the investigation, Summers said.
Originally, Neal was charged with 10 counts of signing blank prescriptions, but police found prescription pills in his car and evidence in the clinic to charge him with 19 more counts, Summers said. Federal charges could also follow since U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials are also involved in the investigation, he said.
After the arrest, authorities closed the clinic until they can investigate if other employees were involved in the operation, Summers said. But after interviewing employees Tuesday, authorities weren’t suspicious of anyone, he said.