Sheriff, state pharmacy and nursing boards investigate 'medication inventory' concerns at Lorain County Jail

The Lorain County Sheriff's Office, Ohio Board of Nursing and Ohio Board of Pharmacy are investigating after "concerns about medication inventory" were raised at the Lorain County Jail, Sheriff Jack Hall said Monday. "I asked the Board of Pharmacy and Board of Nursing to join us in the investigation so that it is a clean investigation," Hall said. The Sheriff's Office is required by law to provide inmates their prescribed medication while in custody. It also has a medication-assisted substance abuse treatment and recovery program. The investigation is open and ongoing, Hall told The Chronicle-Telegram. He said no one has been charged with a crime. Hall has placed Margaret Boise, a state-licensed registered nurse and health care administrator at the jail, on paid administrative leave pending investigation. Hall said investigators were at the jail Thursday afternoon. He said he briefed the Lorain County Prosecutor's Office on the matter as well. Messages seeking comment on the investigation were left for the Board of Nursing and Board of Pharmacy on Monday. Online rumors that the jail was raided at 2 a.m. and that the federal Drug Enforcement Administration was involved are untrue, Hall said. The Chronicle made a public records request with the Sheriff's Office for Boise's personnel file. She has been a licensed registered nurse since August 1994, according to an online state licensing database, and has no prior disciplinary action, according to the Board of Nursing. Prescription drug costs for inmates averaged about $17,000 per month at the end of 2025, down from $88,000 per month when Hall took office in January 2025, he said last year. Contact Dave O'Brien at 440-329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com