Nova Scotia doctor to stand trial in early April

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — The defence lawyer for a Nova Scotia doctor charged with drug trafficking after police accused her of prescribing 50,000 pills to a hospital patient has confirmed the trial is now set to begin April 3.

The trial of Dr. Sarah Dawn Jones had first been scheduled to begin Tuesday, but defence lawyer Stan MacDonald says he had scheduling conflicts and last spring he asked for a fresh date in Bridgewater provincial court. MacDonald says a judge has set aside 10 days for the April proceedings.

When charges were laid almost a year ago, Bridgewater police said Jones wrote the prescription for oxycodone and oxyneo pills over a one-year period.

Dr. Gus Grant of the College of Physicians and Surgeons has said the matter was reported to police in August 2015 after a pharmacist reported unusual activity to the college’s investigative branch.