Crime & Safety

Sister Of Man Who Died From Overdose Says No To AR For Doctor

Dr. Scott W. Houghton of Madison, charged with 47 felony crimes involving the illegal prescription of controlled substances, is due in court Friday for a hearing on his application for accelerated rehabilitation, The Day reports.

 

Dr. Scott Houghton of Madison is due in court Friday for a hearing on his application for accelerated rehabilitation in connection with being charged with 47 felony crimes related to the illegal prescription of controlled substances, The Day reports.

Shannon Van Epps, the sister of Skye Van Epps, plans to appear in court to oppose that. Skye Van Epps "died from an overdose of alcohol and Xanax on Feb. 22, 2010, inside the family-owned home at Ragged Rock Marina, which is at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook. He is referred to as "Patient 19" in a court document that alleges Houghton wrote Van Epps overlapping prescriptions," the report says. 

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Houghton applied for accelerated rehabilitation almost two years after being arrested and stripped of his right to prescribe controlled substances and voluntarily agreeing to the suspension of his medical license. He has been free on a $250,000 bond while his case was pending. If Judge David P. Gold grants the accelerated rehabilitation program, the charges against Houghton would be dismissed after he completes a probationary period. He might be able to return to practicing medicine. "When I read that, I felt like all of the blood just drained right out of my body," said Shannon Van Epps.

Read more at The Day. 

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to a Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Agency Office of Diversion Control notice of Registrant Action, Houghton's Certificate of Registration is currently revoked

Both parties agree that the Respondent is currently without authorization to practice medicine and handle controlled substances in Connecticut, the jurisdiction where he holds the DEA COR that is the subject of this litigation. Although the Respondent does not contest the current status of his state license and lack of authorization to handle controlled substances, in his Reply, he has stresses his intention to contest these issues before the Connecticut authorities in the future.

The charges against Houghton are listed in a story at the time of his arrest from WFSB.com:

In February 2010, a search and seizure warrant was served on Houghton's medical practice on the Boston Post Road in Old Saybrook. ... Houghton's license to prescribe controlled substances was suspended on Feb. 3, 2010, and investigators said he continued to write prescriptions for controlled substances after that time. Houghton was arrested Tuesday morning and was charged with 30 counts of illegal prescribing of narcotics, 14 counts of illegal prescribing of a controlled substance, two counts of failure to maintain controlled substance records and one count of failure to maintain security for controlled substance records.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.