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Los Gatos Doctor Accused Of Running 'Pill Mill' At Clinic

LOS GATOS (CBS SF) - A Los Gatos doctor was arraigned Monday for allegedly operating a "pill mill" at her clinic, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors allege that Dr. Jasna Mrdjen, 69, of Mountain View sold powerful prescription drugs to undercover officers without an examination or a review of their medical records.

KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:

Mrdjen also knowingly prescribed drugs to addicts, according to the district attorney's office.

During the investigation, some of Mrdjen's patients were arrested for reselling prescription drugs they obtained through Mrdjen, prosecutors said.

"Prescription drug abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States," supervising prosecutor James Sibley said in a statement.

"Overdoses have more than tripled since 2009 and now, with more than 40 people dying every day, outrank deaths due to traffic accidents," Sibley said.

The Santa Clara County Special Enforcement Team, a multi-jurisdictional task force that targets narcotics dealers, manufacturers and traffickers, served a search warrant Friday at the Pain Management Clinic, which Mrdjen operated in Los Gatos, according to the district attorney's office.

Mrdjen was arrested on a $1 million warrant and was arraigned Monday afternoon in Santa Clara County Superior Court. She is facing 12 felony counts for conspiring to sell controlled substances by excessively prescribing narcotics to patients for resale, district attorney officials said.

She is also facing two felony counts for prescribing controlled substances to an addict and nine felony counts for issuing prescriptions outside the usual course of professional treatment, prosecutors said.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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