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<\/p>\nFOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – A southern Colorado woman says she was given expired chemotherapy medication not once – but twice – from the same Walgreens pharmacy in Fountain. KRDO13 Investigates also found that the state once cited the same location for mishandling expired medications. <\/p>\n
Now, Walgreens says it has launched an internal investigation after KRDO13 Investigates began asking questions.<\/p>\n
Cheyenne Mesa depends on weekly injections of Methotrexate – a chemotherapy drug commonly used in low doses to treat autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.<\/p>\n
Mesa says she uses the medication to treat ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic inflammatory condition that affects the spine and joints.<\/p>\n
“This medication is extremely important for me to live and do daily activities like everyone else,” Mesa told KRDO13 Investigates.<\/p>\n
According to Mesa, she discovered earlier this month that one vial inside a prescription she picked up from the Walgreens on Fountain Mesa Road in Fountain had already expired months earlier.<\/p>\n
Mesa showed\u00a0KRDO13 Investigates\u00a0the vial and prescription records, she says, which document the issue.<\/p>\n
“One of the bottles was expired of June 30th of 2025,” Mesa said. She says the prescription containing that vial was picked up in September 2025.<\/p>\n
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After finding the first expired vial, Mesa says she checked additional medication bottles in her home and found another vial that she says expired in October 2025, despite being dispensed in January 2026.<\/p>\n
Mesa says she cannot determine whether she suffered any side effects from taking expired medication because she did not realize the vials were expired until after she had already used some of the medication.<\/p>\n
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that once a drug passes its expiration date, there is no guarantee it will remain safe or effective.<\/p>\n
Mesa says she returned to the Walgreens pharmacy with the vials, packaging, and receipts.<\/p>\n
According to Mesa, pharmacy staff initially acknowledged the issue and provided replacement medication along with Walgreens rewards coupons.<\/p>\n
“They had given me totaling $20 worth of Walgreens cash rewards,” Mesa said.<\/p>\n
Mesa later filed a formal complaint with Walgreens corporate.<\/p>\n
Shortly after KRDO13 Investigates contacted Walgreens about the allegations, a Walgreens district pharmacy supervisor called Mesa while our cameras were still rolling.<\/p>\n
During that call, the supervisor told Mesa the company had escalated the matter internally.<\/p>\n
In a follow-up call recorded by Mesa from her home, the supervisor said Walgreens was continuing to investigate.<\/p>\n
“They are completing a full investigation into the event and will be taking action,” the supervisor told Mesa.<\/p>\n
KRDO13 Investigates repeatedly contacted Walgreens for comment, including calls and emails to the company\u2019s media relations department and the supervisor who contacted Mesa.<\/p>\n
KRDO13 Investigates also visited the Fountain Walgreens in person and requested to speak with a manager, but were told “no comment” and referred back to Walgreens\u2019 media line.<\/p>\n
During the investigation, KRDO13 Investigates obtained disciplinary records involving the same Walgreens location from the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy.<\/p>\n
A 2024 disciplinary order involving Walgreens Pharmacy #07022 at 7910 Fountain Mesa Road found repeated deficiencies during multiple inspections, including assigning expiration dates to prepackaged drugs that exceeded manufacturer expiration dates.<\/p>\n
The pharmacy was fined $5,000 plus surcharges as part of that disciplinary action.<\/p>\n
However, the Colorado State Board of Pharmacy told KRDO13 Investigates that none of the prior disciplinary cases involving the pharmacy specifically involved a patient receiving expired medication.<\/p>\n
The board also said Colorado pharmacy rules prohibit pharmacies from dispensing medication that is outdated or that will expire before a patient finishes the prescribed course.<\/p>\n
The Board of Pharmacy declined to comment on whether an active investigation is underway involving Mesa\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n
Mesa says she plans to file a formal complaint with the state board regarding the pharmacist associated with her prescription.<\/p>\n
Mesa also says she filed a complaint with the FDA and is considering possible legal action.<\/p>\n
If you have information you believe the public needs to know,\u00a0KRDO13 Investigates<\/a>\u00a0wants to hear from you. Tips can be submitted by emailing 13Investigates@krdo.com.<\/p>\n Stay up to date with the latest local news, sports, and investigations by downloading the KRDO13 app. Click here to download it from the Apple App Store.<\/a> Android users can download it from Google Play here.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – A southern Colorado woman says she was given expired chemotherapy medication not once –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":958426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4315],"tags":[32180,267756,105,267757,4326,267758,6587,16,15,22176,267759],"class_list":{"0":"post-958425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-ankylosing-spondylitis","9":"tag-cheyenne-mesa","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-krdo13-investigates","12":"tag-medication","13":"tag-methotrexate","14":"tag-u-s-food-and-drug-administration","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-walgreens","18":"tag-walgreens-rewards"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116570802842780565","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=958425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/958425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/958426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=958425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=958425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=958425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}