DEA Serves Inspection Warrants at Kaiser Pharmacies Across the Country

https://ktla.com/2019/09/17/dea-serves-inspection-warrants-at-kaiser-pharmacies-across-the-country/

The Drug Enforcement Administration served inspection warrants at Kaiser Permanente pharmacies across the country, officials said Tuesday.

Agents are monitoring the prescription and administering of controlled substances and inspecting pharmacy records, Special Agent Kyle Mori, a spokesman for the DEA, told KTLA.

It is unclear how many warrants were issued Tuesday, but some Southern California locations include Woodland Hills, Riverside and Victorville.

Mori said the warrants are under seal and he couldn’t comment on the investigation.

He added, however, that inspections are typically conducted to help officials regulate the health care and pharmaceutical industry and those involved in prescribing, manufacturing or handling controlled substances.

The inspections tend to take a few hours and at the conclusion, the affected pharmacies will reopen.

In a statement, Kaiser said officials are cooperating fully with the federal agency.

“As always, we are committed to complying with state and federal regulations and ensuring the safety of our patients and members,” the statement read.

Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy. What does it mean for lawsuits against the opioid manufacturer?

https://www.statnews.com/2019/09/16/if-purdue-pharma-declares-bankruptcy-what-would-it-mean-for-lawsuits-against-the-opioid-manufacturer/

Law firms seem to follow the same path on many lawsuit issues… with Purdue Pharma… even though Oxycontin was only some 2+% of the opiate prescription market place, Law firms are accusing (suing) them over causing the theoretical opiate crisis.  Of course, Purdue Pharma placed a “premium price” on their brand name medication and thus was able to generate a great deal of revenue.

Causing Purdue to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with consultation from the Philladelphia chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyer who is the best in this field and makes sure that the client’s problem is sorted out efficiently which gives them the courage to re-establish their business in a much better way.

What is very concerning about this settlement with Purdue… is that these lawsuit are wanting money from the family that owns this closely held corporation. A corporation is suppose to separate the assets of the corporation from the assets of the stock holders.  Could this establish a new precedent ?  Could our legal system go after the assets of people, mutual funds or others who own stock in a publicly held company.. who own stock in a particular company who our legal system targets for lawsuits for selling legal product that – our legal system decides needs to make restitution for selling a legal product that may cause health issues to people you buy/use their product. In case of financial issues, you can find chapter 13 bankruptcy lawyers help to get out of the problem.

Historically, stock holders only have at risk the value of the stock that they own in a particular company … if the business “folds” because of lawsuits and get assessed damages greater than the worth of the company assets …

Anything seems possible within our legal system ?

This is a similar path the state AG’s and legislatures after the company that brought Zohydro to market abt 5 yrs ago. Zohydro was a long acting Hydrocodone .. unlike Norco and other Hydrocodone products that contain Acetaminophen and are immediate release. Again Zohydro was a fairly pricey medication costing $10- $20/day for two of the 12 hr tablets.

Because Zohydro contained up to 50 mg of Hydrocodone and did not contain an anti-abuse formula… many of the State AG’s went “ape-shit” on this product being on the market.  They had no proof that the product was being abused or that these attorneys believed that their was a potential to be abused…   Zohydro was the only product that company had and so there was no “deep pockets” to go after and no proof of it being abused… so many State AG’s filed sue at the state level, causing the company to hire law firms in the various states… which the legal fees ended pushing the company into bankruptcy. You can get a legal expert from https://www.attorneyhelp.org/guide/understanding-the-steps-related-to-declaring-bankruptcy-1413.shtml to provide you with apt advice on what needs to be done.

Filed under: General Problems | 5 Comments »

Gun control must include background checks, Democrats tell Trump

https://abcnews4.com/news/nation-world/gun-control-must-include-background-checks-democrats-tell-trump

Congressional Democratic leaders warned President Donald Trump on Sunday that any proposal on gun control must include a House-passed bill to expand background checks for gun purchases — or else risk no legislation at all.

The question has to be asked … why is no one talking about enhanced background checks for people who want/need controlled substances to be prescribed and filled ?

Here is a system  (  https://www.clearme.com/  )that is being used at more and more major airports to clear people and “skip the line”..

Many in our healthcare system – especially Pharmacists – have no way to “validate” the person handing them a driver’s license and Rx for a controlled substance is who they say they are.  The Pharmacist has no option but to put that pt information into the state’s PMP database.  So the serious substance abuser or diverter that has a dozen or more fake driver’s license and going to multiple prescribers and multiple pharmacies… prescribers and pharmacies can run PMP reports until the cows come home and they will never show up as being a doc/pharmacy shopper.

The first time that a person used the www.clearme.com – or comparable –  system, it would not matter who they say they are… that system uses a digital recognition of face and finger prints… and after the first time… when they interact with the system they come up ID’d as to whoever they said they were the first time that they interacted with the system.

It could be SO SIMPLE to be utilized in the healthcare system… when a pt comes to a prescriber or pharmacy… they login into the system … which interacts with the state’s PMP program and automatically generates a PMP report that is emailed to the office/pharmacy.

The PMP system could be programmed to apply certain parameters that would be highlighted on the report that could suggest that the pt is a doc/pharmacy shopper. Saving the healthcare professional time in doing a in  depth evaluation of the report.

The system could also be used to isolate prescribers/pharmacies that was not routinely using the system, by comparing PMP reports being sent to prescribers/pharmacies against prescriptions being written/filled.  Could suggest healthcare providers that could be involved in diversion.

Potentially simple solution, using current technology… and why is it not being at least being tested in some markets ?  One possible reason why it is not… is because the bureaucrats don’t really want to see the war on drugs to GO AWAY ?

Filed under: General Problems | 11 Comments »

DEAlusion

https://behavenet.com/blog/dealusion

Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »

U.S. Rep. Steube introduces bill to reschedule marijuana

https://www.yoursun.com/charlotte/u-s-rep-steube-introduces-bill-to-reschedule-marijuana/article_b1e559e8-d6ff-11e9-9005-430f1d5a6c7f.html

Congressman Greg Steube, R-District 17, introduced a bill to reschedule marijuana from a schedule I controlled substance to a schedule III controlled substance, his office announced Thursday.

The Marijuana 1-to-3 Act of 2019, would let further research on the substance be conducted.

“As marijuana is legalized for medical and recreational use across the United States, it is important that we study the effects of the substance and the potential impacts it can have on various populations,” Steube said in a news release last week. “By rescheduling marijuana from a schedule I controlled substance to a schedule III controlled substance, the opportunities for research and study are drastically expanded. With this rescheduling, researchers can now access federal funds to research this substance and determine its medical value.”

According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, schedule I controlled substances “have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse.” Some examples include: heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Schedule III controlled substances “have a potential for abuse less than substances in Schedules I or II and abuse may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence,” according to the DEA.

Examples of schedule III narcotics include: Tylenol with Codeine, and Suboxone.

Examples of Schedule III non-narcotics include: Didrex, ketamine, and anabolic steroids, according to the DEA.

The bill directs the Attorney General of the United States to make changes to the Controlled Substances Act to move marijuana from schedule I of the Act to schedule III of the Act.

“We hear every day about the positive health benefits of marijuana. Whether it’s young children with seizure disorders, or veterans suffering from chronic pain, it is clear that there are medical benefits to marijuana and I think it’s time we remove the bureaucratic red tape that prevents us from thoroughly studying this substance,” said Steube in the release.

The bill will be referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, where Steube is a member.

Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »

There was a time when the opioid crisis was blamed mostly on prescription painkiller abuse. But new data suggests that opioid deaths in America are now largely due to an illegal synthetic form of the drug smuggled into the U.S. One America’s John Hines has more from Washington. Visit us at: Website: https://www.oann.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OneAmericaNe… Twitter: https://twitter.com/OANN

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

https://www.facebook.com/TheCJPearson/videos/880278375679432/

The above link is to a very interesting 5 minute video attempting to address the reason(s) we are UNABLE TO VOTE THE BUMS OUT !

Last Monday Linda Cheek had a on line meeting https://doctorsofcourage.org/ with the Jeff Scott who is a Libertarian ( https://www.lp.org/ ) running in a special election for the 9th district in NC.  He seemed very open minded to listening to the issues of the chronic pain community.

The next morning, the election day in NC, I was listening to one of the morning shows and they were talking about this special election in NC and only the <R> and the <D> candidates in the race were discussed.  So is the media, in lock-step with promoting our TWO PARTY SYSTEM ?

Is it just me, or does things seem to validate that we have a TWO PARTY SYSTEM and it would take a major upheaval to even attempt to break it up ?

As the person in the video point out to the senate committee that he is addressing… Congress works for us… and WE THE PEOPLE want term limits on those in Congress.

It took 4 yrs for 75% of the states to ratify the 22nd Amendment.  A Republican dominated Congress passed the 22nd Amendment on March 21, 1947.   I am sure that the fact that FDR – a democrat – got elected for his four consecutive terms had little to do with him getting elected to his FOURTH TERM in Nov 1944.

Congress functions on a seniority basis, so unless all the members of congress with the most seniority are toss from office at the same time… with the exception of the House of Representatives … it is nearly impossible to accomplish this with the Senate since 33 or 34 members are up for re-election every 2 yrs.

Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »

A joke for my Biker Friends that ride a Harley. They rest of you can laugh about it too.
An inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson, died and went to heaven.
At the pearly gates, St. Peter told Arthur, “Since you’ve been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward is, you can hang out with anyone you want in Heaven.”
Arthur thought about this for a minute and then said, “I want to hang out with God.”
St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room and introduced him to God.
God recognized Arthur and commented, “Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley Davidson motorcycle?”
Arthur said, “Yep, that’s me.”
God said, “Well, what’s the big deal in inventing something that’s pretty unstable, makes noise and pollution, and can’t run without a road?”
Arthur was apparently embarrassed, but finally he said, “Excuse me, but aren’t you the inventor of the woman?”
God said, “Yes.”
“Well,” said Arthur, “professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention too:
A. There’s too much inconsistency in the front-end protrusions;
B. It chatters constantly at high speeds;
C. Most of the rear ends are too soft, and wobble too much;
D. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust;
E. And the maintenance costs are enormous!”
“Hmmmmm, you have some good points there,” replied God, “hold on.”
God went to His Celestial supercomputer, typed in some key words and waited for the results. The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it.
“Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed,” God said to Arthur, “but according to these statistics, more men are riding my invention than yours.”..

Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »

State Board of Pharmacy: Armed robberies & burglaries happening more often

https://abc3340.com/news/local/state-board-of-pharmacy-armed-robberies-burglaries-happening-more-often

The number of robberies and burglaries of pharmacies is increasing in Alabama, the State Board of Pharmacy says. eDrugSearch encourage everyone to share their own personal Canada pharmacy ratings and reviews so other consumers can easily read the online pharmacy reviews check here the online website https://edrugsearch.com/online-pharmacy-directory/ and find valuable Canadian online pharmacy coupons so they make an informed decision before they purchase

In the last two days alone, there have been two armed robberies and four burglaries of Alabama pharmacies.

One of those armed robberies happened at a Walgreens in Pelham Wednesday night on Highway 261. Now Pelham police are asking for the public’s help identifying the suspect.

Pelham police say the suspect presented a note to the pharmacist with a list of the narcotics he wanted. He then showed him his gun. A few minutes later, he left the store with the drugs.

“I’m sorry to hear about that robbery,” said Neal Damron, who owns Neal’s Pharmacy off Highway 119 in Shelby County.

Damron can relate to the feelings of the pharmacist robbed.

He remembers it like it was yesterday. He says about 30 years ago, a man came into his pharmacy with a gun demanding pills.

“I just went from zero to 100 in far as anger,” Damron said. “We’ll never let that happen again.”

Damron shot and killed the man.

Emotions came back while talking about Wednesday’s armed robbery in Pelham.

“It makes me mad,” said Damron. “It really irritates me. Somebody’s going to get killed one of these days and I hope it’s not the pharmacist.”

The Alabama Pharmacy Board says the amount of burglaries and robberies is increasing.

“The access to drugs is getting harder so that’s why we’ve had these increases in burglaries and increase in robberies,” said Chief Investigator Edward Braden.

Braden has seen 30 robberies and 49 burglaries in the last year in Alabama.

“They’re being sold on the black market or out on the street or being used by addicts that rob or burglarize themselves,’ said Braden.

While Damron prefers to fight back, Braden encourages both pharmacists and shoppers to comply with the robber.

“Be cooperative, provide what they want so they leave and everyone’s safe,” he Braden said.

“We would advise anyone finding themselves in that situation to comply and give the robber whatever he/she is asking for,” said Pelham Police Detective Mike Bellanca. “Items can always be replaced.”

“Try to pay attention to any unique facial or body features, clothing items or vehicle descriptions, including tag numbers, as best you can, and write it down or note [it] on your phone as soon as it is safe to do so,” added Bellanca.

“The thing that we’ve even thought about if this continues to get worse is put in bullet proof glass around the pharmacy,” said Damron.

Filed under: General Problems | 4 Comments »