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Kansas doctor whose patient died of overdose indicted

drug pills medicineWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita doctor accused of unlawfully distributing prescription drugs has been indicted after a patient died from an overdose.

The U.S. attorney’s office says the 31-count indictment against Dr. Steven R. Henson was unsealed Thursday.

The 54-year-old is accused of writing prescriptions for cash, when there wasn’t a medical need and for people other than the ones who came to see him. Federal prosecutors say the drug scheme resulted in the death of a patient in July.

His attorney, Kurt Kerns, didn’t immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press.

Charges against Henson include unlawfully distributing the painkiller oxycodone, the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam and methadone. Methadone often is used to wean addicts off heroin.

Eight people who got prescriptions from the doctor also are charged with unlawful drug distribution.

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