Doctor overdoses
The overdose death of the postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the drug charges filed against her boyfriend, also a research doctor at the hospital, is more like a novel then a litany of criminal charges.
And Baltimore police wrote it that way.
It started with a simple call to the emergency room for a DOA. About 6 p.m., Carrie John came in by ambulance and was pronounced dead at 6:49 p.m. Her live-in boyfriend, Dr. Clinton Blaine McCracken, 32, (pictured at left) was at the hospital and told police his girlfriend had injected herself with a drug, burprenorphine, which is used to treat heroin addiction (See the Baltimore Sun series on use of the drug).
According to the charging documents, McCracken told homicide detectives that he used his computer to search for recreational drugs and had been buying from a place called the New Mikee Online Pharmacy. His most recent purchase was 20 bupe pills for $2 each. He directed police to the syringe his girlfriend used, which he left on a table in the living room of his house near the Baltimore university.
"McCracken stated that they had soaked the pills in water and filtered them before preparing two syringes each with a 1mg dose," the police charging documents state. "He stated that after they prepared the syrignes with the solution of burprenorphine the deceased injected herself with the 1 mg does and immediately began to have difficulty breathing at which time he got her to inhale which did not work, so he called 911 for paramedics.
"McCracken stated that he never got to inject himself with his own 1 mg dose due to the deceased medical crisis. He stated that the deceased had asthma, but no other health problems. He stated that over a 2-3 year period he used his computer to order various narcotics for recreational use to include burprenorphine, morphine, oxycotin and marijuana which was mailed to him in various forms from the New Mikee Online Pharmacy in the Phillipines.
"When asked why, the defendant stated he thought they could control the morphine and burprenorphine. He also stated that he could sit here all day and tell me why marijuana should be legal. He said no one ever got hurt using those drugs, it must have been a batch of pills that were bad."
Both doctors have done extensive research on addiction and the university published a paper in a study of "compulsion and habit formation." Both have degrees in pharmacueticals.
What police said they found inside their house was even more astounding.
As soon as police entered, they said they were met with "an overpowering odor of hydro-marijuana. ... The defendant and the deceased had massed huge gardens of suspected marijuana which was planted in buckets on each floor of the home. Each area containing the suspected marijuana plants had its own lighting system which was prepared by a man-made design. Each area had several fans operating at once with a man-made venting system using the aluminum dryer hoses that hung about two to three feet from the floor directly over the area while venting upward to the roof. There are approximately twenty or more bongs in all shapes, sizes, and configurations strewn about the home. The home was unkept [sic] and trash was thrown about everywhere.
"The bags with pills were located in various areas to include the refrigerator, purses and countertops. Chemicals used on the suspected marijuana were found in various rear yard as well as stored in the basement closet where the largest concentration of suspected marijuana plants were located. Found inside of the large mason jars were several hundred bundles of suspected marijuana. A partial express mail package from EMS was found that was sent from the Phillipines with a postage date of 18 September 2009 with the item described as a wedding gift. The item weighed 80 grams in total."
Police said that at the hospital, McCracken was carrying a green backpack that contained a Canadian passport, letters from the U.S. Customs and Border Agency referencing shipments of narcotics and false manifests.
Comments
I can't believe they do not drug test people who get to play with them all day. I bet your trash collector has to pass a drug test. UM seems to have very stringent preemployement testing procedures. Or is this status quo for "research doctors" working there.
Posted by: Ryan | September 30, 2009 10:09 AM
Why were these two not drugged tested at work? Kinda like letting pediphile's work at the day care center.
Posted by: Ryan | September 30, 2009 11:41 AM
WOW!!!!! How does a Doctor kills themself by injecting themselfs. How was this not discovered. Because they were Doctors, they lived in Canton/Federal Hill or they were white? Nobody smelled the herb? Nobody noticed the chemicals stored in the backyard? When will law enforcement start looking for the real criminals. They are mostly white, middle to upper class folks. The largest meth/marijuana bust have been on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Anne Arundel Co. Wake up people!!!!!
Posted by: uncleollie41 | September 30, 2009 1:02 PM
As unfortunate as the outcome of this event was for all involved and despite the sympathy we all have for the young woman and her family...
what was the actual cause of the outcome?
what crime was committed?
what were these people doing that say *should* have had the police or Uni officials notice them or their activities?
what work inadequacies were observed?
what work or social inadequacies are attributable to the chemicals?
Posted by: MrRational | September 30, 2009 3:05 PM
Geez, there's enough here for a month of Sundays conversations. Assuming these two did not work in a vacuum and the woman has been there for over three years it's hard to believe that no one suspected these two of literally living their work. Of course, no one will ever come forth with info. What were they doing with the extensive weed? Probably selling it to colleagues. It's good to be circumvent around anyone (regardless of profession) who has easy access to drugs. This is the real world.
Posted by: ruth | September 30, 2009 3:38 PM
why? why? why would you print the name of the overseas website these two idiot/junkies bought the pills from???
Now more folks can get their pills from this source!!!
Posted by: beth | September 30, 2009 5:37 PM
uncleollie41, I would love to see your statistical data you researched prior to making your comment! Can you please cite your sources?
Posted by: Albert | September 30, 2009 6:09 PM
Grad students and PhDs aren't normally drug tested because for the most part, they're recruited from schools as students and I'd like to see a person suggest a drug testing policy for all students.
Also, these guys didn't steal drug from their lab as far as we know, take it from me, that stuff is highly regulated. They were two people who obviously had a drug problem themselves and we need to see it for what it is and stop looking for someone to blame.
Drug addiction doesn't discriminate, and if this isn't proof, I don't know what is.
Posted by: Adi Jaffe | September 30, 2009 8:31 PM
The real question is: when will society begin to recognize addiction as a DISEASE instead of a moral failure? When will we focus on rehabilitation instead of imprisoning individuals who are truly sick?
Posted by: Christie | September 30, 2009 9:03 PM
Seriously..this guy and his girlfriend were completely addicted druggies and needed help...disguising their problem as research has been done before with similiar results...christ...
Posted by: i@t.com | September 30, 2009 9:13 PM
Junkies with PhDs. Sad.
Posted by: Anonymous | September 30, 2009 11:05 PM
Injecting narcotic is the horrible thing. Anyone, of any race or class, who does that for recreation needs some help.
And there's a big difference between marijuana and narcotics. Marijuana needs to be legalized, as it has never killed anyone and is a better high than alcohol. They were probably just massive potheads (many doctors are, as are many lawyers, plumbers, mechanics, etc.) who dabbled in shooting narcotics and had some bad luck.
Posted by: Mike | October 1, 2009 12:04 PM
These kids were caught up in something they could not control. During my addiction years I thought I could control it WOW was I wrong. I will agree Marijuana is harmless. But the pot isn't whats wrong here its the use of I.V. drugs and that is a whole new animal. Been there done that and I burned the T-shirt. And I agree yes the press has the freedom to print what they want but guys use the brain God gave you. Now that you have printed the name of the webb site every junkie with a P.C. will be surfing to that site. As far as the two Doctors are concerned sorry for their loss, it is what it is. And I might add society may be surprised at who uses Marijuana. Who actually knows what goes on behind closed doors.
Posted by: BobbyD57 | October 3, 2009 11:04 AM
"disguising their problem as research has been done before with similiar results...christ..."
Seriously? Just how do you think one gets a Phd, anyway? Just by hanging out, poking rats with a stick? It takes years of dedicated research, multiple written papers (which have to be defended to experts in the field who try to tear you apart), endless hours of experimenting with tiny instruments, and consuming massive amounts of literature. No one gives you a PhD for showing up. I'd love to see evidence to the contrary.
I knew this person, and she was regarded internationally as a gifted and talented member of the field. She clearly had a problem no one knew about, no doubt about that. But insinuating that she got into research so she could have access to substances is asinine.
Posted by: unbelievable | October 5, 2009 12:09 PM
so are they addicet to drugs or its thier reserche to get thier phd some time requaier what they did also they were growing thier owun pat ist for personal ues or to sell it to frinfs so they can pay thier school money ,, man its sad
Posted by: madkw | October 21, 2009 7:13 PM