by Bill Kotowski

A former employee at the Bannock County Jail now faces some serious charges of her own.

Thursday afternoon Margaret Kirby was served a felony summons for drug charges. Kirby faces two felony charges of fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance and two counts of adulterating a drug.

This comes after a month and a half long investigation by the Tri-County Sheriff's Association.

Kirby was employed by Correctional Healthcare Management, a contractor that provides healthcare to inmates at the jail. She worked there for about a year as a licensed reactionary nurse.

Sheriff Nielsen indicated these charges involve prescription drugs but declined to give too many details.

Under Idaho code adulterating a drug happens when a drug is mixed or packed to reduce its quality or if its substituted with something else.

Sheriff Nielsen says prescription drug abuse is a growing problem in this area and its a problem that can have some very dangerous consequences.

Sheriff Lorin Nielsen, Bannock County: "A lot of times we just start thinking 'well, I've got these pain killers that were prescribed for me, you so if you've got pain you're welcome to these,' type thinking. They're controlled chemicals for a reason. Because what's good for one person may be fatal to another."

Kirby no longer works at the jail. She will be arraigned on December 2. The maximum penalty for fraudulently obtaining a controlled substance is up to four years in prison. Adulterating a drug carries a maximum of 15 years.

When asked if this incident will have a negative impact on the sheriff's office's relationship with the contractor, he said he will review that a little down the road.