Doctor’s drug trafficking trial gets off to slow start

BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — The drugtrafficking trial for a Nova Scotia doctor accused of prescribing 50,000 pills to a hospital patient stalled Monday as the defence made a bid to exclude statements she made to medical regulators in the early days of the case.

Dr. Sarah Dawn Jones sat quietly in the gallery of Bridgewater provincial court as defence lawyer Stan MacDonald argued her constitutional rights would be violated if information she gave the Nova Scotia College of Physicians and Surgeons is allowed into her trial.

Jones has pleaded not guilty to charges including possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, drawing a document without authority and fraud.

“She has the right to be free from the Crown using selfincriminating evidence against her,” MacDonald said outside court.

When charges were laid over a year ago, Bridgewater police and the federal Crown alleged that Jones wrote the prescription for oxycodone and oxyneo pills over a one-year period to a patient, but the drugs were diverted into the community.

The case’s origins run back to August 2015, after a pharmacist reported unusual activity by Jones to the college’s investigative branch. Jones was swiftly suspended.

MacDonald said the college immediately contacted the doctor to request she respond to allegations she was diverting the powerful painkillers.

Court heard on Monday that she wrote a lengthy letter to the college on Sept. 4, and four days later gave testimony defending her actions. The college went on to report the matter to police.

Federal Crown prosecutor Jill Hartlen argued that Jones provided the letter and testimony voluntarily to the college.

Judge Timothy Landry said he expects to have a decision on the admissibility of the evidence by Friday afternoon.