Johnson doctor pleads guilty to drug charges

By Lilly Adkins

BSN Associate Editor

PIKEVILLE — Sentencing is scheduled for April 30 in U.S. District Court in Pikeville for a Johnson County doctor who waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday to drug charges.

Dr. Jason Castle of Staffordsville pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with eight counts of intentionally distributing a controlled substance through prescriptions that were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose.

Castle operated Eastern Kentucky Family Medicine and New Age Vitality Clinic in Paintsville, according to a plea agreement he reached with prosecutors. On or around Aug. 6, 2020, Castle learned that he was being investigated due to his prescribing of fentanyl, the plea agreement said.

“Nonetheless, between August 13, 2020, and October 15, 2020, Castle issued prescriptions for 90 dosage units of Duragesic 100 mcg/hr patches to three patients,” the plea agreement said. “The Defendant knowingly distributed these fentanyl prescriptions by signing and issuing the prescriptions outside the usual course of professional practice. The Defendant knew the prescriptions were not issued for a legitimate medical purpose within the usual course of professional practice, and deliberately ignored that fact.”

The maximum punishment for the charge is imprisonment for not more than 20 years, a fine of not more than $1 million and a term of supervised release of not less than three years, the plea agreement said, as well as a mandatory special assessment of $100 per count paid to the U.S. District Court Clerk at the time of the entry of the plea.