Pubdate: Sat, 16 Mar 2002
Source: Sun Herald (MS)
Website: http://web.sunherald.com/content/biloxi/2000/12/28/pageone/
Address: 205 DeBuys Road, Gulfport MS 39507-1707
Contact:  http://www.sunherald.com/speakeasy/
Copyright: 2002 The Sun Herald
Fax: 228-896-2104
Author: Tracy Dash

BILOXI DOCTOR'S LICENSE RETURNED AFTER SUSPENSION IN DRUG CASE

BILOXI - A Biloxi doctor who pleaded guilty to illegal possession of 
narcotics is back in practice and will have his record wiped clean if he 
stays out of trouble for three years. The potential penalty for the crime 
was two to eight years in prison.

The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics spent 45 days in 2000 investigating 
Adkins and allegations that he wrote prescriptions for the painkiller 
Mepergan fortis, also known as meperidine, to men in exchange for sex. The 
men were not his patients.

According to court records, the state Board of Medical Licensure reinstated 
Dr. Jerry Adkins' license after a nine-month suspension when he agreed to 
undergo treatment for a sexual disorder at a Kansas hospital and continue 
treatment on an outpatient basis.

To get his license back, Adkins also had to agree to write prescriptions 
only when another doctor signs off on them, and he must have someone else 
present in the room when he examines patients. However, Adkins denied that 
he ever had sex with a patient.

Medical records in the court file say that Adkins, a general surgeon, 
suffers from paraphilia, a mental disorder characterized by sexual deviation.

Adkins' attorney, Joe Sam Owen of Gulfport, filed a request in Harrison 
County Circuit Court on Thursday to seal the medical records enclosed in 
Adkins' file.

The court has not yet acted on the request. Owen did not return a telephone 
message Friday seeking his comment on the case.

In addition to the possession charge, the MBN also charged Adkins with 
attempted transfer of a controlled substance. However, the state dropped 
the transfer charge under the terms of the plea agreement.

Adkins faced the charge, the indictment says, because he intended to sell 
meperidine to an undercover narcotics agent and attempted to "induce (an 
undercover agent) to engage in homosexual acts in exchange for a 
prescription for meperidine."

The agent, though, refused to engage in sexual acts and Adkins did not 
write a prescription, the indictment said.

The Attorney General's Office agreed to put Adkins on probation, and to 
eventually clear his record, said prosecutor Mark Ray, because the office 
received several letters from members of the community who didn't want to 
lose Adkins as a surgeon.

Ray said, "We were trying to do what's in the best interest of the community."

The Attorney General's Office prosecuted the case after District Attorney 
Cono Caranna bowed out because he knows Adkins socially.
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