Prosecutors called Dr. Daniel J. Healy "nothing more than a drug dealer in a lab coat" and dubbed his medical practice "a cash-and-carry narcotics store." 

Tall and slender and sporting a closely cropped head of white-gray hair, Healy, 54, appeared relaxed prior to his appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real. 

Dressed in a green windbreaker and an over-sized pair of cream-colored slacks, Healy eased himself into a chair at the defense table and smiled at his attorney, Roger Rosen. He then bent down slightly to reach his hands, which were shackled to a chain around his waist, and pushed back his glasses. 

When asked whether he had a statement for the court, Healy said he had none, and Real proceeded with the sentencing. 

"It's disappointing for me and many of the people you have helped ... in the past that you would ever have put yourself in this position," the judge said, addressing Healy in a courtroom packed with the defendant's family members, including a daughter who is in medical school. 

Upon his release from prison, Healy, who will then remain under court supervision for 10 years, must complete 50,000 hours of community service and pay a $150,000 fine. He will also never be allowed to practice medicine again.

Healy pleaded guilty in July to one count of distributing hydrocodone -- a highly addictive opiate most commonly known by the brand names Vicodin and Norco, --to patients at his pain and weight loss clinic without a legitimate medical purpose.

Court documents state the physician even prescribed the drug to patients with a known addiction to painkillers. 

"Not only did he know -- and ignore -- the effects of his drugs on his customers, he made sure they were well addicted, so they would keep coming back to him for more." 

The documents also allege Healy ordered more hydrocodone in 2008 than any other doctor in the U.S., and 10 times more than the average pharmacy. 

Hydrocodone is the most frequently prescribed opiate in the United States.

Pharmaceutical sales and marketing consulting company IMS Health said pharmacies dispensed more than 136 million hydrocodone prescriptions in 2008. 

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, abuse of hydrocodone has escalated. The amount of illicitly obtained hydrocodone seized by law enforcement and reported to federal, state, and local laboratories has increased by 109 percent since 2004. The DEA says emergency room visits due to abuse of all pharmaceuticals increased 25 percent between 2004 and 2005. 

Even more troubling, hydrocodone abuse has risen exponentially amongst children. A 2008 Monitoring the Future survey showed 2.9 percent of eighth-graders, 6.7 percent of 10th-graders, and 9.7 percent of high school seniors had used Vicodin for non-medical purposes in the previous year. 

As Healy exited the courtroom flanked by two law enforcement officers, a frail-looking older woman dressed in a coral sweater reached out and touched his forearm. When one of the officers ordered the woman -- later identified as Healy's mother -- not to touch the defendant, she took a step back. 

"I can't touch him?" she said, her voice quiet with a hint of defiance. "He's my baby." 

Outside the courtroom, defense attorney Rosen parted ways with Healy's family to speak with reporters. 

Rosen praised Real, calling the judge's sentence "impressive" and "thoughtful," and said his client was sorry for his actions.

 

"I can tell you that, from the bottom of his heart, [Healy] regrets he took that route," Rosen said. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Herzog said he wanted to see Healy go to prison for the maximum term of 18 years, a request Real denied citing the physician's lack of prior criminal history and other factors. 

However, "At the end of the day, this doctor is not going to distribute anymore drugs," Herzog said.