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The Defund the Police Movement is Coming for the DEA

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/dyzkvq/the-defund-the-police-movement-is-coming-for-the-drug-enforcement-administration

Critics say the Drug Enforcement Administration has fueled mass incarceration and is a “100 percent failure” at curbing drug trafficking. Sociology professor Alex S. Vitale is unambiguous in his assessment of the Drug Enforcement Administration and its stated mission of reducing drug trafficking in the United States: “They have been a 100 percent failure by any measure you can think of.” Vitale, coordinator of the Policing and Social Justice Project at Brooklyn College and the author of The End of Policing, said the DEA hasn’t saved any lives, nor has it made drugs less available. “Anybody in America can get any kind of drugs they want,” Vitale said.

The idea of defunding the police has become more mainstream in recent months, as part of the wider discussion around police brutality towards Black people stemming from the police killing of George Floyd. So far, the focus has largely been on local police forces rather than federal law enforcement agencies. But drug and police reform advocates believe dismantling the DEA, which they say is responsible for carrying out a discriminatory war on drugs, should be a priority. In June, a group of 76 former DEA agents put out a statement decrying systemic racism within the agency. Last week, the Drug Policy Alliance, an organization that advocates for ending prohibition, announced a framework for decriminalizing possession of all drugs federally. One of the major tenets of the policy is taking away the DEA’s authority to classify drugs under the Controlled Substance Act and giving that power instead to the National Institutes of Health. More broadly, the Drug Policy Alliance argues drugs fall under the jurisdiction of public health authorities rather than law enforcement.

“The DEA has been completely ineffective at stemming the flow of the drugs. We have more people dying of accidental overdoses than we ever have before,” said Matt Sutton, spokesman for the Drug Policy Alliance. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 2019 was the deadliest year in U.S. history for overdoses, with nearly 71,000 deaths. Even so, the DEA received more than $3.1 billion this fiscal year, and is on track to get even more money next year.

In an email statement, Sean Mitchell, acting chief of DEA media relations, said the DEA is the “only U.S. law enforcement component that possesses the authorities and capabilities to disrupt and dismantle the most prolific drug trafficking organizations domestically and across the globe.”

Mitchell said in 2019, the DEA’s actions denied cartels $5 billion in revenue. He said the DEA “will always follow the science and entities such as the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (and) continue to research many drugs for medical efficacy” and that the administration does not pursue individual drug users. Although the DEA’s goal is to target high-level drug trafficking in the U.S. and disrupt the drug supply abroad, recent developments show its powers can extend beyond that. Following nationwide protests in reaction to the killing of Floyd, the Department of Justice authorized the DEA to to “enforce any federal crime committed as a result of protests over the death of George Floyd,” according to a memorandum obtained by Buzzfeed News. Under the new powers, DEA special agents were allowed to “conduct covert surveillance” and share that information with federal, state, and local authorities. Scott Roberts, senior director of criminal justice campaigns at Color Of Change, a nonprofit civil rights organization, said the memo shows how easily federal agencies can be authorized to go beyond their original mandate for political reasons. “Now we’re seeing the types of surveillance tools that were built and designed to theoretically go after drug cartels… being used to surveil and trap protesters and frankly limit and encroach on people’s First Amendment rights.”

Mitchell said the DEA’s powers during the civil unrest in June included establishing and maintaining perimeters, protecting federal property, and monitoring crowd movements to identify bad actors and criminal activity and that those authorities have expired and have not been extended. Created under President Richard Nixon in 1973, the DEA was originally billed as a means of combating a drug abuse crisis in the United States. But its real purpose was criminalizing Black people through the war on drugs, Roberts said. In a 1994 interview with journalist Dan Baum, published in Harper’s magazine, Nixon-era domestic policy chief John Ehrlichman admitted the war on drugs was a ruse to target Nixon’s political opponents. “The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and Black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or Black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and Blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did,” Ehrlichman told Baum. According to filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th, about the genesis of mass incarceration, the U.S prison population more than doubled, ballooning from 513,000 in 1980 to 1,179,200 in 1990, after Ronald Reagan was elected president and aggressively ramped up the war on drugs.

About half of federal prisoners are incarcerated for drug crimes. In 2019, more than 75 percent of people convicted of federal drug crimes were non-white, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. “They did a great job with filling prisons with Black and brown folks and decimating our communities,” said Bonita ‘Bo’ Money, co-founder of the National Diversity and Inclusion Cannabis Alliance (NDICA), a group that advocates for equity in legal weed. Roberts said conservative politicians pushed the narrative that Black communities were “hot beds for illicit drug use” and so pumped resources into over-policing Black neighbourhoods. “Black communities were positioned as the scapegoat,” he said, despite the fact that Black and white people use drugs at similar rates.  Roberts said the DEA funnels millions of dollars into local police departments while teaming up with them for drug trafficking stings, which encourages them to enforce prohibition. He said local law enforcement teams also pick up on the DEA’s “militarized approach to drug enforcement”—such as SWAT teams. “A lot of the more frankly virulent approaches to policing like SWAT teams were born of the war on drugs,” Roberts said. Money’s organization NDICA is currently granting $2,700 to people leaving jail for cannabis crimes to help them transition back into society. She said instead of funding agencies like the DEA, which has a history of corruption scandals, money should go towards reparations for communities harmed by the war on drugs, especially job training. “We need more programs like that where we’re supporting folks who are getting out of prison that have been traumatized for spending 20, 30 years in prison for weed,” she said. Roberts said there’s reason to be hopeful that agencies like the DEA will face more scrutiny, particularly as attitudes around drugs change. Although cannabis is “the lowest hanging fruit,” he said 20 years ago it would have been unimaginable that so many states would be decriminalizing or selling weed. The opioid crisis, which has hit white communities in middle America hard, has also disrupted the narrative that drug addiction is a problem limited to poor Black communities, he added. “Hopefully we can get to a point where we’re investing more in public health solutions and less in institutions like the DEA. And maybe eventually we’ll realize that we don’t need it,” he said.

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Kamala Harris’s Anti-Catholic Bigotry

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/kamala-harriss-anti-catholic-bigotry/

Someone might want to remind Joe Biden, who’s just picked progressive California senator Kamala Harris as his running mate, that his vice-president-to-be believes Catholics are unfit to serve in our nation’s courts. (Biden, of course, as I considered at length on the homepage today, has spent his entire political career invoking his Catholic faith.)

In late 2018, while evaluating the nomination of Brian Buescher to serve as a district judge in Nebraska, Harris posed a series of questions insinuating that his involvement in the Knights of Columbus — a charitable Catholic fraternal organization — disqualified him from serving on the bench. Here’s one of her written questions:

Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men. In 2016, Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as “a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.” Mr. Anderson went on to say that “abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale.” Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization?

She went on to ask Buescher whether he was “aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when [he] joined the organization” and whether he had “ever, in any way, assisted with or contributed to advocacy against women’s reproductive rights.”

Harris’s colleague, Democratic senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, went a bit further, asking Buescher whether he intended to “end [his] membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias” — in other words, intimating that she would withhold her vote at least until he had left the Knights of Columbus.

These two Democrats were, in short, suggesting that belonging to a Catholic group with millions of members, which has been an important charity in the U.S. for more than a century, renders an individual unfit to serve as a judge

More sinister even than that, Harris used Buescher’s membership in the Knights of Columbus as a pretext to insinuate that opposition to abortion, a core component of Catholic teaching on the dignity and value of human life, disqualifies an individual from the bench.

Buescher eventually was confirmed, and at the behest of Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, the Senate later voted unanimously to reaffirm the constitutional clause forbidding religious tests for public officeholders. But the fact remains that Harris was guilty of reprehensible anti-Catholic bigotry, and there’s no reason to believe her views have changed.

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Want to see what insurance fraud looks like? One of my hospice patients just passed away this morning and I asked if there was anything we could do to help. I mentioned taking back any meds because we are a drug take back facility registered with the DEA. Keeping meds around the house when someone dies is not only a sad reminder of the loved one but also dangerous because they can end up in the wrong hands. The daughter pulls out boxes of meds they got over the years from the VA via mail order. This is one of the meds he no longer used but the VA kept sending it anyways. Each of these inhalers would cost an uninsured customer over $400 and the VA sent this guy 12 of them to be trashed. What a waste of money. This is why your co-pays and premiums are so high. The insurance company probably had a special kickback deal with Astrazeneca who makes this inhaler and that’s why they kept filling it and mailing it when the customer asked them to stop. This is absolutely ridiculous but your government allows it. PBMs are the biggest waste of money this country has ever seen but they line the pockets of Republicans and Democrats equally and no one bats an eye. PBMs are today’s mafia. We don’t need gangsters and drug lords… We have Express Scripts, Optum and CVS Caremark

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White House, VA launch REACH — a call to action to engage the nation in preventing suicide

July 7, 2020, 09:30:00 AM

https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5484

WASHINGTON – The White House and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today launched the REACH national public health campaign aimed at empowering all Americans to play a critical role in preventing suicide. 

The goal of REACH, which was established by the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS), is to change the conversation around suicide by urging people to recognize their own risk and protective factors — as well as the risk and protective factors of their loved ones. 

“REACH will empower our nation’s Veterans to seek and receive help and it will encourage them to reach out to their brothers and sisters in need who may be vulnerable,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “The power of this campaign will change how we talk about mental health and suicide in our nation. It will ensure that those in need, especially the men and women who have served our great nation, will receive the care and support they deserve.” 

“The REACH campaign will inspire and educate all Americans — encouraging them to share their own struggles and to reach out to those who are hurting. It will engage our Veterans to help lead the way as we change how we think about, talk about and address suicide,” said PREVENTS Executive Director Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen. “I urge everyone to go to wearewithinreach.net and take the PREVENTS Pledge to REACH and be part of the solution. Together, we will prevent suicide.” 

The website also includes information on factors that may protect against suicide, such as belonging to a faith-based community, healthy family relationships, having a purpose in life and strong problem-solving skills. REACH encourages everyone to intentionally strengthen their protective factors — to care for their emotional health and well-being just as they do their physical well-being. 

Although suicide is preventable, the nation is facing an epidemic in deaths, with 132 Americans dying by suicide each day. In 2017 there were 47,173 suicide deaths and an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts. For Veterans, the overall suicide rate is 1.5 times higher and the female Veteran suicide rate is 2.2 times higher than the general population after adjusting for age and/or gender. 

To that end, the REACH campaign website, we are within reach, provides information to help people recognize risk factors for suicide, including financial stress, chronic illness or pain, isolation and mental illness, in themselves and in their loved ones. It also links to resources that can provide assistance in avoiding the hopelessness that can lead to suicide. 

Campaign messages and imagery using the hashtag #REACHNow will be evident on a wide range of digital platforms immediately after the launch. The website will include a video public service announcement supported by a partnership with the PenFed Foundation and SoldierStrong and created by Tree Media. Media covering this issue can download VA’s Safe Messaging Best Practices fact sheet for important guidance on how to communicate about suicide. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or is in crisis, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for confidential support 24 hours a day at 800-273-8255. Veterans and service members, including National Guard and Reserve, who need immediate help should call the 1-800 number and press 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line, chat online at www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/chat or text 838255.

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Seeking Justice for Pain Patients: Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against CVS, Walgreens and Costco for Refusal to Fill Opioid Prescriptions for Chronic Pain Patients

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seeking-justice-for-pain-patients-class-action-lawsuits-filed-against-cvs-walgreens-and-costco-for-refusal-to-fill-opioid-prescriptions-for-chronic-pain-patients-301108583.html

PROVIDENCE, R.I. and SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — National class action lawsuits have been filed against the largest pharmacy chains in the country for discrimination in refusing to fill legitimate prescriptions for opioid medication.  Edith Fuog, a 48 yr. old Hispanic divorced mother , from Riverview, Fla., filed a nationwide class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island located in Providence, R.I. against CVS on behalf of the millions of other legitimate users of legally prescribed opioid medication, seeking legal relief that will allow them to get their legitimate opioid prescriptions filled, as written, without additional limitations or restrictions, and without the constant fear that their prescriptions will be denied. 

Susan Smith, a 43 yr. old married mother from Castro Valley, Ca., has filed a similar national class action against Walgreens and Costco in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California located in San Francisco, Ca.

Edith Fuog suffers from chronic pain brought on by numerous medical conditions, including stage-1 breast cancer, MRSA, VRSA, Guillainn-Barre Syndrome, Parsonage Turner Syndrome, Trigeminal Facial Nerve Neuropathy, Hashimotos Thyroid disease, Lupus and arthritis.  As alleged in her lawsuit, since at least 2017, numerous different CVS pharmacies have refused to fill her legitimate prescriptions for opioid medication in violation of the American with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  She filed complaints with CVS’ corporate headquarters, but despite promises that the matter would be investigated, has never heard back from CVS.

Susan Smith suffers from Mesial Temporal Lobe Sclerosis of the brain, which is an extreme form of scar tissue in her brain that leaves her with constant migraine headaches that are so severe, that at times she cannot walk, will lose vision in her eyes, and experiences extreme bouts of nausea and vomiting.  The only medications she can take to provide her with any sort of relief from the extreme pain are opioids.  As alleged in her lawsuit, numerous Walgreens and Costco pharmacies have refused to fill her legitimate prescriptions for opioid medication in violation of the American with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the anti-discrimination provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  She complained to Walgreens corporate, but they were dismissive of her plight. 

Efforts to combat the national crisis of abuse of opioids, while originally well-intentioned, have led to discrimination against millions of Americans who legitimately need opioid medication to combat the terrible pain they live with every day.  As alleged in the lawsuits, CVS, Walgreens and Costco have implemented nationwide policies that  that have resulted in their pharmacies treating patients who presents a valid prescription for opioid medication as if they are a drug abuser, interfering with the customer’s relationship with his or her treating doctor and improperly refusing to fill legitimate prescriptions for opioid pain medication or imposing medically unnecessary limitations or other requirements before agreeing to fill the prescriptions.

As noted in the suits, in a June 16, 2020 letter to the CDC, the American Medical Association stated that “The nation no longer has a prescription opioid-driven epidemic” and “We can no longer afford to view increasing drug-related mortality through a prescription drug-myopic lens.”  The AMA noted that guidelines issued by the CDC in 2016 “included multiple arbitrary dosage and quantity limitation recommendations that have been consistently misapplied by State legislatures, national pharmacy chains, pharmacy benefit management companies, health insurance companies and federal agencies.”  The AMA letter cited CVS and Walgreens policies as “inappropriate” policies that misapply “the CDC guidelines in different ways and have resulted in specific harm to patients.”  The AMA further noted that: “These policies, moreover, have not withstood any meaningful evaluation or data analysis as to whether they have improved pain care or reduced opioid-related harms.”

As Scott Hirsch, one of the lead attorneys handling the cases, explained:  “Many Americans are unaware of the difficulties chronic pain patients have getting pharmacies to fill their lawfully-obtained opioid prescriptions.   It is not only a crisis for Edith and Susan, but for millions of Americans due to the backlash caused in part by the national publicity concerning opioid abuse.  These lawsuits seek to allow the millions of chronic pain patients to obtain their legitimate opioid prescriptions without being discriminated against, harassed, denied, or embarrassed.  It will hopefully improve their quality of life and save many lives in the process.”

The filed Class Actions are: Smith v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., et al., Case No.: 20-cv-05451 and Fuog v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., et al., Case No.: 20-cv-00337

For a copy of the Complaints and more information about the allegations, click here or visit https://seekingjusticeforpainpatients.com.

Rhode-Island law suit link

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https://youtu.be/IABRgZH12YA

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Johnna Magers, Founder and CEO of The American Pain and Disability Foundation

https://therappreportpodcast.podbean.com/e/e20-johnna-magers-founder-and-ceo-of-the-american-pain-and-disability-foundation/

Johnna Magers has 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry and is a chronic pain patient. She started trying to help the disabled several years ago when this crisis started for herself. The mission of The American Pain and Disability Foundation  includes encouraging and enabling self-advocacy: maintaining their highest level of functioning possible; stopping the stigma surrounding those who are in pain management, due to chronic pain or painful disabilities.  Encouraging that they be treated with respect so they can retain their dignity. 

Be sure and check out their website: https://americanpaindisabilityfoundation.org/

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