Iowa Pharmacy Worker's License Revoked Over Alleged Pill Theft

168 tablets of alprazolam and 100 capsules of methylphenidate ER. Those are the numbers at the center of a licensing battle in Dubuque, where state regulators have revoked the professional license of a pharmacist technician trainee after alleged theft of the medications.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy charged Akasha Brown with stealing prescription drugs from a pharmacy for distribution to others or personal use, as well as attempting to unlawfully obtain prescription drugs. The board further charged Brown with engaging in unethical conduct harmful to the public or making deceptive and misleading representations in pharmacy practice.

Surveillance Video Shows Brown Stealing Controlled Substances

The board learned of the incident after Hartig Drug Company, where Brown was employed in 2025, submitted a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration form reporting that an employee had stolen controlled substances. The medications involved included the stimulant methylphenidate ER and alprazolam, which is known by the brand name Xanax.

To support the claims, the pharmacy provided state officials with surveillance video photos. The board alleges these images show Brown wearing a coat, taking medications from a shelf, and placing them in her pocket. The footage allegedly shows Brown leaving the pharmacy with the coat and returning nine minutes later without it.

Iowa Pharmacy Worker's License Revoked Over Alleged Pill Theft — Photo: yahoo.com

Conflicting Statements

While the pharmacy allegedly reported the theft to Dubuque police, court records show that no criminal charges were filed. During an investigation, Brown told board officials she did not take the drugs intentionally, claiming she discovered them later after taking the coat out of her washer at home.

In a written decision, the board noted that Brown provided conflicting accounts of the event. Although she claimed the medications were taken accidentally, she did not return the bottles or the drugs to Hartig Drug Company.

Brown allegedly told board staff:

“I contacted (Hartig) and told them, ‘Hey, I found (the medication). I have it. It was in my laundry.’ I kept the bottle ’cause I had a feeling I would need proof … So do I throw it away now, or should I give it to the cops?”