Destin Middle School nurse Makayla Crandall, 27, of Niceville, was arrested for stealing Adderall and Focalin from students and replacing their medications with aspirin or Aleve.
While Florida law permits school districts to assist students with obtaining their daily medication at school, it is under strict policies and procedures outlined in the law. Florida Statute 1006.062 is clear:
- All medications, whether a prescription or over the counter, must have a medication form signed by both the parent or guardian, as well as the doctor who prescribed it
- All medication must be in the original bottle, clearly displaying the student’s name, the dosage, the administration frequency, the doctor’s name, and when the prescription expires.
- All medications must be delivered in person by the parent or guardian and never sent to school with a student.
- Medications are held in the clinic until proper paperwork is on file with the school and submitted by the parent or guardian. Until the school obtains proper authorization paperwork, medication will not be administered to the student.
- Medication should never be taken back and forth by the student. Separate supplies must be kept at home and school.
School nurses play an essential role at schools and are entrusted with administering medications to students, keeping accurate inventory records, and safeguarding the medicines under lock and key.
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According to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, Crandall, who was hired in July 2022, was “stealing prescription medication from several students and replacing their medications with aspirin or Aleve.”
Crandall got caught because the mother of one of the students told deputies that her daughter had noticed her pills being a different color than what she was used to and that “she had observed distinct differences in her child’s behavior.”
On September 27th, 2022, the mother had to go to the school because her daughter “got sick and felt nauseous and hot as if she was going to pass out.”
Text messages between the mother and Crandall revealed that Crandall was trying to convince the mother that “there are different manufacturers which can have different imprints on pills.” Mother’s intuition kicked in, and she wasn’t buying Crandall’s story.
Florida school nurse accused of stealing Adderall from students https://t.co/w0OtSnJlO2
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) December 3, 2022
"Crandall was charged on Thursday for allegedly stealing prescription medication from multiple students. In some cases, she allegedly replaced their medications with aspirin or Aleve."https://t.co/CM0XSJtSbW
— Melissa (@Proudmimi12) December 4, 2022
On October 3rd, the mother reached out to the Destin Middle School principal, Dr. Belinda Small, and asked if she would get her daughter’s pills to see what was in the bottle. The principal was able to locate the daughter’s bottle and found a single Aleve pill in it.
This revelation triggered a complete audit of the medicine cabinet. On October 4th, school staff and a school resource officer had to force their way into the locked cabinet, as Crandall had the only key.
The audit revealed that more than one hundred and ten pills were missing from at least five students’ medicine bottles. Of the five bottles examined, only two had drugs in them. In one bottle, there was a single Aleve; in the other, seven pills turned out to be aspirin.
Between September and October, two more parents reported that their child’s behavior had changed. A third parent came forward who stated that she had dropped off a bottle of Adderall for her daughter at the school but had to rush her to the hospital because of her out-of-control behavior.
Crandall couldn’t explain how the pills were missing or swapped out. She admitted to investigators that she took Adderall for “personal use,” but she had a “valid prescription” for them. She denied she took the pills from students.
The arrest report stated:
“Based on the investigation, the defendant willfully and intentionally and without permission took medication from at least three student victims. The defendant was the primary and sole person to have access to the medicine cabinet.
In addition, the defendant’s negligence and failure to maintain accurate records of pills missing, resulted in behavioral changes in the victims as a result of pills (Aspirin and Aleve) being replaced in their bottles.”
Crandall was arrested and charged with three counts of grand theft of a controlled substance, five counts of child neglect, and one count of failure to maintain narcotics records. Crandall’s bond was set at $9,000.
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