The Nevada Board of Pharmacy has failed to conduct mandatory background checks of drug wholesalers since 2007, an investigation found, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
A 2005 law designed to fight drug counterfeiting requires drug wholesalers to be fingerprinted as part of the licensing process and their fingerprints to be submitted to a state database for criminal background checks.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak said during an Oct. 29 news briefing that the state Department of Public Safety told him in early May that the board had frequently failed to follow the law.
The governor said the board had only conducted background checks on some drug wholesalers and not others, but still collected background check fees from all the wholesalers that applied for licensing. He ordered the board to return the money to the applicants or to transfer untraceable funds to the state's unclaimed property account.
The governor also said that a five-month investigation of the board continues and other state licensing boards may also be investigated. He sought an emergency audit of the board and put a moratorium on drug licensing, which he has since lifted.
At the news briefing, the governor said that auditors found the board to be in compliance with procedures in their initial investigation.
The chairman of the pharmacy board resigned earlier this month, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The potential health and safety effects of the board's negligence were not immediately clear.
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