MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. – A pharmacy in Madison Heights has been busted for the illegal sale of thousands of controlled substances to people without prescriptions, officials said.
Read: Madison Heights pharmacy busted for selling thousands of prescription drugs
“When I hear something like that, it hurts me inside,” said Dr. Annas Aljassem.
Aljassem is a pain specialist at Beaumont Health. He was reacting to the DEA’s raid of Great Health Pharmacy and the arrest of the man officials said was running a dangerous and damaging pill mill.
Yousef Kosho, 43, of Sterling Heights, has been charged with multiple felonies related to selling 10s of thousands of dollars worth of the most addictive opioids to people for cash.
Aljassem said pill pushers hurt patients who truly need pain killers, but are limited to laws due to some over-prescribing.
“Patients that may have cancer and they can’t get their medications filled because of quantity limits,” Aljassem said.
Federal investigators watched Kosho before going inside and discovering an estimated 25,000 doses of oxycodone, hydrocodone, codiene and others were likely sold for cash.
More than $380,000 was seized from Kosho’s accounts and found $1.2 million in cash in safe deposit boxes.
Kosho was prescribing without a license after the state suspended it in 2017 for doing the same thing.
The potential human cost of addiction and overdoses is staggering.
“It’s tragic. Truthfully tragic,” Aljassem said. “How can you look at yourself in the mirror and prescribe for cash? It’s about helping people, not making our pockets fatter.”
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