Guymon Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Dispensing Opiates Without a Medical Purpose

OKLAHOMA CITY – DR. CHRISTOPHER BATEMAN SLATER, 57, of Guymon, Oklahoma, has been sentenced to eight months in federal prison for distributing codeine without a medical purpose, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  

On May 26, 2017, Slater, a doctor of osteopathy, was charged with knowingly distributing and dispensing promethazine with codeine, a Schedule V controlled substance, outside the usual course of professional medical practice and without legitimate purpose.  Codeine is an opiate used to treat pain and carries a high risk of addiction.  According to the charges, the crime took place on April 18, 2012, in Texas County, Oklahoma.  Slater pleaded guilty on June 15, 217.

On April 2, 2018, U.S. Magistrate Judge Shon T. Erwin sentenced Slater to 8 months in federal prison and a fine of $100,000, to be paid within 30 days.  Slater must report to the Bureau of Prisons by April 11.

This case is the result of an investigation by Drug Enforcement Administration and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.  It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry Blackburn.