Doctor’s Role in Fatal Prescription Drug Overdose

In Orange County, California, coroner records show that accidental prescription drug overdoses are on the rise, from 130 in 2006 to 266 in 2009.  One of these fatalities was Jarrod Barber of Laguna Niguel, who overdosed at age 19 on a combination of:

  • Opana – a powerful narcotic painkiller
  • Seroquel – an anti-psychotic medication and
  • Klonopin –  (Clonazepam) an anti-anxietymedication

According to a report in The Orange County Register, Barber began to smoke excessive amounts of marijuana and abuse prescription drugs following the cancer death of a close friend.   He obtained prescriptions for Clonazepam and Seroquel from Dr. Paul D. Corona, a Laguna Niguel doctor who has built a practice by writing prescriptions for mood-stabilizing drugs.

Corona, a general practitioner who now specializes in the treatment of mood disorders, is a self-described “guru” who promotes the use of mood-stabilizers …

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