Virginia Doctor Faces Life in Prison for Prescribing Half a Million Opioid Doses in 2 Years

A Virginia doctor could face life imprisonment at his sentencing this week for prescribing about half a million doses of highly addictive opioids.
Virginia Doctor Faces Life in Prison for Prescribing Half a Million Opioid Doses in 2 Years
Dr. Joel Smithers in a file photo. Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority
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A Virginia doctor could face life imprisonment at his sentencing this week for prescribing about half a million doses of highly addictive opioids over a two-year period.

Joel Smithers, a 36-year-old married father of five, was arrested in 2017 at his practice in southern Virginia.

Isabel van Brugen
Isabel van Brugen
Reporter
Isabel van Brugen is an award-winning journalist. She holds a master's in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
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