Email steve@steveariens.com 502-938-2414
Pay Attention
A federal watchdog is investigating whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under chief Anne Milgram improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates, people familiar with the probe told The Associated Press.
Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »
While this article starts talking about abortion. All of us have seen the impact of politicians/bureaucrats exercising their opinions or the opinions of others who have lobbied these bureaucrats/politicians who convinced them what they were being told were the correct FACTS, which should be used to create some legislation. It also demonstrates how attorneys are imposing their opinions/beliefs on a large portion of our population in relation to how/if certain medical procedures/treatments should be provided and if provided on a limited basis. At what point can we expect attorneys & or the judicial system to stop trying to protect us from ourselves?
https://www.daily-remedy.com/abortion-harbinger-of-healthcare/
Two recent court cases that transpired just this week are harbingers of future judicial activism that is likely to ramp up next year during the election cycle.
First, the Texas Supreme Court recently made a controversial decision regarding the medical exemption for abortion in the case of Kate Cox, a woman carrying a fetus with a fetal chromosomal abnormality. The ruling prompted her to seek an abortion out of state.
Second, the Supreme Court agreed to review the issue of whether mifepristone, a commonly prescribed abortion medication, can be prescribed through telemedicine visits and shipped to a patient’s home by mail.
At first blush, it may feel like the two cases have little to do with one another aside from being about abortions. But the similarities run perniciously deep and reflect a common theme when it comes to abortion and its policy: non-clinically trained judges use legal rhetoric to justify an inherently moralized position on abortion.
Several factors determine which avenues of drug discovery that people in research and pharmaceutical companies focus on. Research funding amplifies the pace of scientific discovery needed to create new treatments.
How to strike a balance between providing incentives to develop miracle drug therapies for a few people at the expense of the many is a question researchers and policymakers are still grappling with.
In 2021, 51% of drug discovery spending in the U.S. was directed at only 2% of the population.
Of the more than 7,000 known rare diseases, defined as fewer than 200,000 people affected in the U.S., only 34 had a therapy approved by the Food and Drug Administration before 1983.
Clinical trials serve as the gold standard for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of new treatments. However, recent investigations have brought to light a disturbing truth: flawed data and fraudulent practices are more prevalent than we may realize.
One of the leading voices in exposing these issues is Dr. Carlisle, an Anesthesiologist working for England’s National Health Service, who meticulously examined a random sample size of over 500 studies and found that 44% contained flawed data, with 26% being completely untrustworthy.
The rise of paper mills, or journals that publish voluminous amounts of specious studies at an increasingly expeditious rate, has further exacerbated the problem, with tens of thousands of suspected fake papers flooding journals.
When flawed or fraudulent data is used to support the approval of a treatment, patients may be exposed to unnecessary risks or be denied access to alternative therapies that may be more effective and safer.
Coughs are notorious this time of the year, with the winter winds blowing and so many remaining indoors for prolonged periods.
It is ordinary enough to carry on with it, yet persistent enough to ruin anyone’s day. This delicate balance explains why ‘cough’ is among the most commonly searched terms on Google right now.
Interestingly enough, neither antibiotics nor antitussives or cough suppressants, make much of a difference. In a prospective study analyzing whether a cough resolved when treated with either medication, the majority found little to no symptomatic relief.
How much of this comes from actually being treated versus the placebo effect, or the perception of being treated, is still unknown, but we surmise most if not all the perceived improvement gleaned was more perceptual than true clinical benefit.
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicare/107855
Potential unintended consequences of Medicare’s drug-price negotiation program were examined during a panel discussion hosted by The Hill and sponsored by the Alliance for Aging Research, an industry-funded nonprofit.
Wednesday’s panelists raised concerns that drug-price negotiation under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could create access problems for vulnerable patients. Others worried that declining revenue for drug companies could lead to fewer breakthrough therapies.
Signed into law in 2022, the IRA capped insulin’s cost at $35 per month for Medicare Part D beneficiaries and limited their annual spending to $2,000; the bill for the first time gave Medicare the ability to negotiate the price of certain costly prescription medications.
In late August, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled the first 10 drugs targeted by the program, with negotiated prices expected to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
Ultimately, the IRA as currently structured, has the potential to hurt rather than help patients, said Sue Peschin, president & CEO of the Alliance for Aging Research, based in Washington D.C.
Hampering Access for Patients of Color
With regard to utilization management, Peschin explained that one element of the IRA involves restructuring Medicare Part D so that insurers become responsible for 60% of drug costs in 2025, which is “quite a jump” from their current 15%. Because of this increased responsibility, Peschin argued it’s “likely” insurers will leverage utilization management techniques such as prior authorization and step therapy to “ration” care.
Interventional cardiologist Sara Collins, MD, co-chair of the Health and Policy Committee for the Association of Black Cardiologists, voiced her concern that drug-price negotiation could inadvertently make it harder to access the selected drugs, particularly for African American and other minority patients.
Seven of the 10 drugs included on Medicare’s price negotiation list are cardiometabolic drugs that treat patients at high risk of stroke, pulmonary embolism, and deep vein thrombosis. For example, on the list are blood thinners rivaroxaban (Xarelto) and apixaban (Eliquis), both regularly prescribed at Collins’ office, she said. Similarly, sacubitril/valsartan (Entresto) is a key drug for heart failure that is to undergo price negotiation.
Notably, the selected cardiometabolic drugs were chosen not because of their list price but because of their high volume of use and their total cost to the Medicare program, Collins argued. That means the potential for harm if access is substantially restricted, and that any layering of utilization management techniques such as prior authorization is going to “hit Black and Brown people harder,” she said.
Black adults have the highest rates of stroke, heart failure, and hypertensive renal disease, and the highest premature cardiovascular mortality in the country, Collins said.
In addition, Hispanic, Black, and Native Americans are 40% to 50% more likely to receive a diabetes diagnosis than white Americans. Diabetes medications are also included in the list of selected drugs.
“Utilization management complicates our ability to prescribe these medications and puts our patients in a precarious position as a result,” Collins said, adding that she hopes CMS will establish guardrails to prevent insurers from “rationing” healthcare for the most vulnerable patients by using tools like prior authorization.
Stifling Innovation?
Under the IRA, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that only one fewer innovative drug would reach the market over 10 to 15 years. “We’ll see if that’s actually true,” said Kurt Schrader, a former Democratic representative from Oregon, and now of the law and lobbying firm Williams & Jensen.
Schrader was one of the speakers who voiced concern on Wednesday over whether CMS’s drug-price negotiation was fair and whether it would hamper access to new drugs.
Craig Garthwaite, PhD, an economist and director of Healthcare for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, said CMS has been granted “an amazing amount of power” under the IRA.
It’s inaccurate to call this a negotiation, he said, as CMS can essentially tell drug companies to accept the price it chooses or leave the Medicare Part D program.
“I guess you negotiate with a mugger when they show up. It’s your money or your life,” said Garthwaite. “Technically you’ve got two options there, but most of us don’t think of it that way.”
Drugs like sacubitril/valsartan are very effective at treating heart failure, but people with certain types of heart failure may not respond as well as others, Garthwaite said. “We know there are companies trying to invest in [alternatives]. Are they going to get rewarded, if they provide more therapeutic value over what’s classified as a therapeutic substitute?”
Schrader was similarly skeptical about any actual “negotiation” happening under CMS’s plan. He described the penalties for drug companies not cooperating with the drug-price negotiation program — the excise tax or exclusion of any of a company’s drug from the Medicare program — as “outrageous.”
Asked whether he thought Congress might be able to create a technical fix, Schrader said, “This is an issue that resonates with everybody, so I think there’s an opportunity to do some bipartisan work.”
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
I find it very interesting when one bureaucracy is going to sue another bureaucracy. Especially when one bureaucracy’s action interferes with the ability to generate some revenue by another bureaucracy. Could this be a “backhanded” process of the DEA’s wish to yank pharmacy’s DEA licenses so that there are few pharmacies in the state that could buy/dispense controls?
The commission that oversees Georgia’s medical marijuana program held a special meeting on Wednesday to discuss recent letters from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warning pharmacies that dispensing THC under a state-authorized program could put their businesses at risk.
Officials at the meeting generally said the letters stand in the way of expanding medical marijuana access to patients, with one calling on supporters to contact Congress about the issue and another alluding to potential litigation the state may file against DEA over the dispute.
Georgia is the first state in the nation to pursue a plan to distribute medical marijuana through existing pharmacies that already dispense other drugs. Already about 120 independent pharmacies have applied to offer low-THC cannabis products.
But in its November 27 letter to pharmacies across the state, DEA said that federally registered pharmacies “may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act. Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.”
At Wednesday’s special meeting of the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC), members said they’re still committed to prioritizing safe access for patients despite the federal threats.
Currently the state has only nine licensed dispensaries in operation, said GMCC Chair Sid Johnson. There are also 23 pharmacists approved to provide medical marijuana, whom Johnson described as “a critical part of ensuring access to patients, particularly in rural areas.”
“I want patients to know that we are well on our way to fully implementing the Hope Act,” Johnson said, referring to a 2019 law that expanded the state’s limited medical marijuana program, “and we will continue to pursue our mission of ensuring access to medical cannabis for all patients across Georgia.”
He added that “we support the work of the Board of Pharmacy, which licenses pharmacists to dispense medical cannabis.”
The commission’s general counsel, Jansen Head, said she believed the Board of Pharmacy has since paused its licensing of pharmacies to dispense medical cannabis. But behind the scenes, Head added, officials are discussing how to respond.
“I don’t think the state is quiet. I think right now we’re gathering information and seeing what’s the best way to move forward while also keeping in mind the interests of our patients and the industry,” she said. “I know that’s not super specific, but there are things kind of developing in response to the letter.”
Any legal action, she suggested, would need to come from the state attorney general’s office.
“We’re not the only key players in the program, and so it does require collaboration with our sister agencies,” she said. “And then obviously, any kind of action that we would take are things that we would do through the arms of the AG’s office, through the executive branch.”
One issue Head highlighted is a congressionally approved budget rider that bars the federal government from interfering with state-legal medical marijuana programs.
Specifically, it prohibits the Department of Justice (DOJ) from using its resources to prevent states “from—and I’ll quote—’implementing their own laws that authorize the distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana,’” Head said at the meeting. “And that’s the program we have in Georgia.”
The budget rider, she added, limits federal law enforcement “from taking legal action against the states directly in order to prevent us from promulgating or enforcing our medical marijuana laws.”
Whatever the intent was with the DEA letters,” the lawyer continued, “more than half of our access points for medical relief—which is the pharmacies—they’re impacted and at risk of no longer making this medicine available to patients, as recommended by their physicians.”
While Head didn’t explicitly say the state was weighing a lawsuit to fend off the DEA warnings, she described a path the state could take to push back against the threats.
Commission member Bill Prather, a pharmacist himself, said he interpreted DEA’s correspondence as a shot across the bow.
“I no longer own a pharmacy or any part of a pharmacy,” Prather said. “If I did, I would take the letter from the DEA as, in my opinion, exactly what it is, which is a direct threat to pharmacies, saying, ‘If you dispense this product, we’ll pull your DEA permit.’”
Andrew Turnage, executive director of GMCC, said the conflict demonstrates “the need for federal government to update the laws and policies regarding the use of cannabis.”
“It’s a federal issue, so we don’t have the authority to intervene,” he said, “but we certainly want to encourage everyone to reach out to their members of Congress and make their wishes and concerns known about this issue.”
Marijuana Moment reached out to multiple members of Georgia’s U.S. House delegation for comment last week and this week, with little response.
“Cannabis could have some medicinal benefits, and we owe it to patients to research and test the drug for that purpose,” Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) told Marijuana Moment. “The DEA has made it clear that pharmacies dispensing certain THC products are in violation of federal law and that guidance should be taken seriously.”
On the Senate side, meanwhile, staff for Sen. Raphael Warnock (D), who recently confronted bankers in a committee hearing about the need for social equity in marijuana reform, did not respond to emails. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D) office declined to comment.
Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy has also not responded to Marijuana Moment’s requests for comment.
State officials recently presented the pharmacy plan at a meeting of the Cannabis Regulators Association, or CANNRA, and Turnage said it was “definitely an item of discussion.”
“The feedback that we received in that environment was simply this: ‘This is exactly the way that it should have been from the beginning. This model makes perfect sense,’” he recalled. “But they also expressed concern as it relates to finding out about the DEA’s letter.”
“A lot of states who are also medical states, they’re kind of eager to learn more about what Georgia will do,” added Head, the body’s general counsel. “They’re really looking at how Georgia is going to handle this tension.”
Head also said she was happy to hear support at the CANNRA meeting from regulators in other states who have “dealt with the DEA in different situations.”
“They really encouraged us to really try to see that through, to not be afraid of the challenges,” she said. “I think we had about seven or eight other states really putting themselves out there to support Georgia if if there’s some developments in response to the DEA letter. They’ve got attorneys, also attorneys general who just kind of offer themselves up as a resource.”
Brather, the physician, said that “It would really help us as far as distribution of the product if pharmacies could dispense it, because there is a pharmacy I believe in all but three or four counties in this state.”
“It will be a huge help to our patients, which are the main focus, if they could get their medication in a pharmacy,” he said.
Turnage, the commission’s executive director, agreed.
“There’s something really important about a licensed professional being between a regulated drug in a patient with a medical need,” he said. “And to the extent that we have been able to under the framework of our state’s law, the commission and the Board of Pharmacy have carried that vision into reality.”
“While our licensed dispensaries are certainly more than capable of providing access for patients in Georgia,” Turnage added, “they are limited in number by the statute, and therefore they’re not always within the immediate vicinity of where patients live.”
One member of the commission said he appreciated DEA as an agency, which he claimed “provides some value.”
“I believe that we really don’t know enough about THC to be using it safely,” said Bill Bornstein, a doctor and chief medical officer at Emory Healthcare. “That’s not to say I’m not supportive of what we’ve done in the state of Georgia, but there are a lot more questions that need to be answered.”
At the same time, Bornstein said similar DEA threats wouldn’t apply to physicians, who don’t technically prescribe marijuana to patients but instead merely certify that someone has a qualifying condition for the program.
Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy began accepting applications from independent pharmacies to dispense low-THC cannabis oil, which under state law can contain no more than 5 percent THC, in October. The goal was to improve access to medical marijuana among patients, who are otherwise restricted to just seven dispensaries that have opened in the state since April.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported early that month that nearly 120 pharmacies had applied to the Board of Pharmacy to dispense marijuana products made by Botanical Sciences, one of the state’s two licensed producers. Pharmacies could also distribute medical cannabis from Trulieve, the state’s other licensed producer.
As of late October, at least three pharmacies had begun dispensing Botanical Sciences products, the company said in a press release. According to a map on the company’s website, more than 100 more are slated to open soon.
If sales of medical cannabis products went online in all locations, about 90 percent of Georgians would be within a 30-minute drive of a pharmacy selling marijuana, according to an Associated Press report. The state allowance applies only to independent pharmacies, not larger chains such as CVS and others.
DEA sent the warning letters to Georgia pharmacies amid the federal agency’s ongoing review of a recommendation by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that marijuana be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), reportedly to Schedule III. The recommendation was leaked in late August, and DEA has yet to publicly act on it.
While the Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently concluded that it was “likely” that DEA would follow the HHS recommendation based on past precedent, DEA reserves the right to disregard the health agency’s advice because it has final jurisdiction over the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
In October, HHS first publicly revealed a one-page version of the rescheduling memo, though it was heavily redacted to remove key information. This past week, the government handed over another 252-page tranche of documents related to the review, again with the majority of information blocked out.
Broadly, the new documents outline new scientific information that’s come to light in recent years subsequent to an earlier denial of a rescheduling petition, which HHS suggests might now necessitate rescheduling marijuana.
“The current review is largely focused on modern scientific considerations on whether marijuana has a CAMU [currently accepted medical use] and on new epidemiological data related to the abuse of marijuana in the years since the 2015 HHS” evaluation of marijuana under the CSA’s eight-factor analysis.
HHS also notes that it “analyzed considerable data related to the abuse potential of marijuana,” but added that it’s a complicated consideration, “and no single test or assessment provides a complete characterization.”
Earlier this month, six Democratic governors wrote a letter to the Biden administration urging that rescheduling be completed by the end of the year. As DEA implied in its letter to the Georgia pharmacy, pharmacies would be permitted to dispense marijuana if it’s moved to Schedule III, although pharmaceutical products would first need to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
“Rescheduling cannabis aligns with a safe, regulated product that Americans can trust,” says the governors’ letter, which points to a poll that found 88 percent of Americans support legalization for medical or recreational use. “As governors, we might disagree about whether recreational cannabis legalization or even cannabis use is a net positive, but we agree that the cannabis industry is here to stay, the states have created strong regulations, and supporting the state-regulated marketplace is essential for the safety of the American people.”
Even if THC is moved to Schedule III, however, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would still need to approve marijuana-based drugs before they could be legally distributed at registered pharmacies like those in Georgia.
Filed under: General Problems | 2 Comments »
Where is the logic/common sense is these statements?
I wonder what drugs were involved in the 26% of fatal drug overdoses. This appears that this healthcare organization has little concern of the roughly 190 people died from those other drugs. I could help but notice that they LUMPED ALL OPIOID DRUGS as if a single category. How many pts prescribed opioids OD’d on their prescribed medication(s)? How many OD’s on pharma opioids that were diverted? How many people OD’d on illegal drugs from China/Mexican cartels? Maybe putting forth the DETAILS, would point out how warped their logic is?
It states in the article that Rula Hunter had a back injury and was prescribed Oxycontin in 1996 and IMMEDIATELY BECAME ADDICTED and there is a mention of her going to rehab – no date or duration. Here is her Obit https://www.lindquistmortuary.com/obituaries/rula-hunter. She died in 2023 at the age of 72 y/o.
Did Intermountain Health start this program after the CDC published their 2016 opioid guidelines in 2016? We all know that those guidelines where misapplied and misguided.
Intermountain Health, Bonneville Communities That Care, and Utah prevention campaign Know Your Script unveiled 20-foot-high standing chandelier display.
Ogden, UT (PRUnderground) December 12th, 2023
Utah leaders gathered recently at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital to celebrate a huge win.
According to Utah’s Controlled Substance Database, Utah reduced daily prescriptions from 7,000 in 2017 to 5,200 in 2022.
To signify this reduction, Intermountain Health, Bonneville Communities That Care, and statewide opioid prescription misuse prevention campaign Know Your Script unveiled today a 20-foot-high standing chandelier installation in McKay-Dee Hospital’s main lobby.
A previous version of the pill bottle chandelier hung in the hospital’s lobby back in 2017 and showcased the 7,000 daily opioid prescriptions at the time. However, today’s installation has received some upgrades — or, in this case, downgrades — to represent the 26% reduction in the past five years.
“At Intermountain Health we make it a priority to promote awareness, educate, and discuss chronic pain with our patients, to help them live a functional, high-quality life,” said Judy Williamson, president and CEO of Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital. “This display represents all the hard work of our caregivers and patients and many lives saved.”
“The reduction in daily opioid prescriptions in Utah is a testament to the inspiring work of the health care providers and community partners tackling the opioid crisis,” said Dr. Michelle Hofmann, deputy director for DHHS. “While there is cause for celebration, there is still work to be done. Our department is committed to prevention efforts and will continue to work to reduce opioid prescription misuse in Utah.”
For Ogden resident, Robert Hunter, opioid addiction is personal. It impacted the love of his life, his wife, Rula.
“Rula had been on several pain medications for a previous back injury, when in 1996 she was introduced to OxyContin by a doctor in 1996. She became immediately addicted and one of Utah’s first victims to opioids,” said Hunter.
Rula received professional treatment and afterwards she and Robert became addiction recovery volunteers until her untimely death in January of this year.
“Vulnerability, openness and displays like this will help mitigate the stigma often attached to addiction,” said Hunter. “Together I hope we can all help heal one another.”
Since 2017, Intermountain Health has worked to change opioid prescribing quantities and potency with great outcomes – over 13 million fewer opioid tablets have been prescribed.
“These changes are huge wins for improving patient safety and keeping patients safe from potential addiction, misuse or even unintentional overdose,” said Kim Compagni, Intermountain Health assistant vice president for pain management services. “Intermountain Health is committed to continuing to reduce these risks, while working to find alternative solutions for pain control for our patients, including physical therapy, mindfulness training, acupuncture, massage therapy and medical nutrition counseling.”
Efforts across the state on a community level have also played a pivotal role in educating communities on alternative solutions and implementing research-based prevention strategies.
“Localized efforts have played a crucial role in the reductions we’re celebrating today,” said South Ogden Mayor Russell Porter. “By addressing community-specific needs and leveraging resources available at the community level, we not only prevent opioid prescription misuse but also ensure the well-being of our residents, exemplifying the power of local coalitions in creating positive and enduring impact.”
To learn more about the project and how to reduce opioid prescription misuse, visit knowyourscript.org/progress.
About Know Your Script
The Know Your Script campaign, a collaboration between public and private partners, was launched in 2008 and is dedicated to preventing prescription opioid misuse and abuse. By mobilizing media, community partnerships and local outreach, it seeks to educate Utahns about the risks associated with opioids and other effective pain management alternatives, as well as change behaviors regarding proper use, storage and disposal of prescription opioids. For more information and to find a local medication drop box near you, visit KnowYourScript.org.
About Bonneville Communities That Care
Bonneville Communities that Care (BCTC) is a coalition of community members from four cities in Utah — Uintah, Washington Terrace, South Ogden and Riverdale. The coalition brings community residents together with public and private systems to help kids find success through substance use prevention and evidence-based programs. This community-based initiative provides parents and caregivers with information about the risks youth are facing in the area and the research-based parenting skills to prevent substance use. For more information, visit their website at https://www.bonnevillectc.org/.
About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For more information or updates, see https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.
Filed under: General Problems | 5 Comments »
I have heard from a number of attorneys that when a federal prosecutor takes someone to federal court, 90%-95% of the time they will be found guilty. After you watch this 17 minute video of a Federal Prosecutor, you will easily understand how that high conviction rate can be attained. What I suspect, that each possible violation this attorney claims. He is only talking about a single pt and a single interaction with a practitioner. Just imagine, the number of possible federal law violations can could be fabricated on just 1-2 handfuls of pts from a particular practitioner’s practice?
As I remember, several years ago, a particular rural doctor, was initially charged with 400 counts. Each count worth 20 yrs in prison. Makes sense why he agreed to plead guilty to a SINGLE COUNT. As I remember this practitioner was in his 60’s, so a single count was worth 20 yrs in prison and as I understand it, there is no early parole in our federal system. They must serve at least 85% of their sentence.
It was indicated that this was in 2019, I wonder if these Federal prosecutors are still going after prescribers, since the number of poisoning/ODing from illegal Fentanyl from China & Mexican cartels have probably doubled since then. Maybe it is too difficult to confiscate assets of these criminals that are “off-shore”?
I think if you consider the video – as a whole – these Federal prosecutors’ end goal was criminal/civil asset of a prescriber’s assets. that is “free money” that these Feds can put in their dept’s coffers to use/spend as they wish.
Filed under: General Problems | 5 Comments »
https://doctorsofcourage.org/bombshell-revelation-from-government/
In a shocking turn of events, the U.S. Government, in response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation in the case of Neil Anand et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Civil Action No. 21-1635), revealed a startling truth that will have far-reaching consequences for physicians across the United States. The government’s admission, concealed for years, unraveled a series of mass arrests in operations that have been likened to infamous historical events.
Numerous physicians across the United States were arrested in a single day during massive, seemingly unconstitutional operations. These operations, bearing ominous names like Operation Pill Nation, Operation Snake Oil, Operation Oxy Alley, Operation Juice Doctor, and Operation Wasted Daze, have drawn comparisons to the infamous Nazi operation, Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, which targeted Jewish physicians.
The bombshell revelation came through Robin Brooks, Director of Freedom of Information, who disclosed a shocking amount of previously confidential information in her letter to Dr. Neil Anand. Brooks unveiled that the government had concealed crucial information related to the Pill Mill Doctor Project, a United States “Manhattan Project” colossal effort in solving the U.S. Opioid Crisis. The disclosure included eight-hundred-thirty-five pages of records responsive to Anand’s FOIA request, of which only sixty-one pages were released in their entirety. The rest of the documents contained numerous redactions, withholding essential information under various exemptions like Exemption 3, Exemption 4, Exemption 6, Exemption 7C, and Exemption 7E of the FOIA.
However, the most significant revelation from these government documents is the exoneration of physicians involved in opioid prescribing. The U.S. Surgeon General’s admissions, contained in the official government documents produced pursuant to the FOIA, unequivocally prove that opioid prescribing physicians did not engage in criminal activity in violation of the Controlled Substance Act. These admissions confirm that the defendants and other similarly situated physicians could not have formulated the necessary intent to participate in a criminal act under the Controlled Substance Act.
The government documents reveal the historical context that may have contributed to increased opioid prescribing in the United States. Physicians, driven by good intentions and erroneous Government training and teaching, prescribed opioids to manage pain, believing they were safe and effective. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s admissions in the documents underscored the dire consequences of Government misinformation and misguided practices. The Government’s role in promoting the use of opioids as a pain management solution and the Fifth Vital Sign has been unveiled, emphasizing the importance of considering the circumstances that led to the increase in opioid prescribing.
The legal implications of this revelation are profound. The United States Supreme Court’s precedent in cases such as Raley v. State of Ohio, Lanzetta v. State of New Jersey, and United States v. Cardiff reaffirms that the government cannot sanction the most indefensible form of entrapment by actively misleading its citizens. The government’s failure to provide clear guidance to physicians and, in some cases, actively promoting the use of opioids has now come under scrutiny. These Supreme Court precedents suggest that citizens may not be punished for actions undertaken in good faith reliance upon authoritative assurances that punishment will not attach, especially when they operate under vague, undefined, or contradictory commands.
In conclusion, the shocking revelation of government documents through FOIA litigation in the case of Neil Anand et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has brought to light the government’s role in opioid prescribing and raises serious questions about the legality of the arrests of physicians. The government’s conduct, which amounts to “active misleading,” may have far-reaching legal consequences for those arrested in the massive healthcare operations. The fallout from these revelations is likely to shape the future of healthcare practices and law in the United States, and could potentially lead to the exoneration of physicians who were unjustly targeted in these operations.
Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »
I saw someone make this statement on the web. Don’t they know who they work for? The “they” ,that they are talking about is POLITICIANS. Particularly those in Congress. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/election-us-2020-54696386 According to this article in 2020 Federal Presidential and Congressional candidates spend 14 BILLION – TWICE AS MUCH as was spent on the 2016 election.
That doesn’t include the 4.1 billion that was spent on lobbyist in 2022. That is 11+ million/day, to help influence the 535 members of Congress. That averages out to abt $11,000/day – 7 days a week on each member of Congress. https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/01/federal-lobbying-spending-reaches-4-1-billion-in-2022-the-highest-since-2010/
With all those $$ flowing into election campaigns, and $$ to influence members of Congress by Lobbyists, who believes that any letters, emails, phone calls to member of Congress will influence their decisions in any way?
Congress basically functions on a seniority system. Both the House & Senate have numerous committees. Each committee has a chairman, who will belong to the political party of the majority of the particular party and a co-chair that belongs to the political party that is the majority. The balance of each committee will reflect the percentage of the political party in the majority.
For anything to potentially become a law, it starts with a bill being introduced by one of the members of a the appropriate committee. The chairman may nor may not bring up a bill for a vote. If the chairman does not bring a bill up for a vote. It becomes DOA. I saw it reported that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) introduced 20 bills during her first 2-yr term in the House, and none was brought up by chairman of the committee for a vote.
If a bill get voted out of committee, the bill goes to the Speaker of the House or Head of the Senate. Each can chose to bring the bill to the floor for a vote or not. If one or both of those refuses to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, the bill DIES!
If the bill is passed by the House and the Senate, it is then sent to the President to sign it into law.
The President can sign the bill into law or veto it. If the President VETOES the bill, then the Senate and House has the option to override the President’s veto with a 2/3 vote by each. If the Senate or the House fails to vote to override the bill, the bill becomes law.
Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »
This post originally appeared on my blog Nov 16,2014 and last updated Feb 4,2016. https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/genocide-in-america/ This is before the CDC 2016 opioid dosing guidelines were published and about 2-3 yrs after the opioid Rxs dispensed had peaked. Some states have passed law in recent years, that is suppose to protect practitioners and pts when prescribing opioids to pts. But few seem to admit that they have done little/nothing to help all involved. Is all the deaths from under/untreated pain or is all the suicides just “swept under the rug” and all the relatives leave the funeral home, saying ” .. at least he/she is “at peace…”
This page is going to contain posts made on other places on the web by those in chronic pain and how the war on drugs has turned into a war on pts. The number of people who are abusing some substance is not going down, but the number of chronic pain pts not being able to get their chronic pain adequately treated is rapidly increasing… as is the use/abuse of Heroin.
History shows us other countries that have had a OVERT genocide… It would appear that our society has chosen to have a COVERT genocide. The rules/guidelines in place is like playing cards with a stacked deck Just label it as a accident ?
And the whole process’ genesis was based on racism and bigotry War on Drugs GENESIS… BIGOTRY ?
As more and more chronic painers lose or have their therapy cut or they are more and more home bound and more and more INVISIBLE to our society.. They are emotionally, physically, mentally exhausted… many are losing or have lost the will and ability to “FIGHT” and having to deal with increased depression.
I am not encouraging or endorsing suicide.. I am trying to make those with chronic pain MORE VISIBLE to those in our society that are CLUELESS !
For 16 yrs I used pain meds with very little problems. I took higher doses then most. Some people think if u weight 100 lbs u shouldn’t need the same dose as a 200 lb man. I sometimes vacation from one med to another for a month or two then go back . This helped to keep doses from getting higher and higher. Worked for me. I took my meds every 4 hours. i lived a pretty good life. Could work clean house and care for the kids. Do my community service. Felt pretty good about myself. Then last yr around this time it all went down hill. Only allowed to use meds every 6 hrs and at half the dose. Then no one would fill my scripts because my drs office was 40 miles from my home. For one yr I got my meds by mail or fed ex. That really sucked waiting and waiting for my meds to come. Then Aug 21 2014 I got that letter from my dr. Dropping me as a patient after 16 yrs. now I have nothing. I suffer everyday every hour every min. I can’t sleep I can’t function. I wake up everyday wishing I hadnt. Why didn’t I just die? I never thought this would happen to me never never but it did. I almost did kill myself two weeks ago but I don’t want to do that to my son. The pain it would cause him. What is my future don’t know? I did get lucky a couple days ago and found an old pain patch from 2008. Worked great. Don’t want to hear anything about it being expired nor do I suggest this to anyone else. What did I have to lose? I got to be a person again for a few days.got some stuff done. Made me feel better about myself. I smiled and got some sleep. I know that my life has to have some kind of pain management or I will kill myself. I would like to have my old meds back but those days r gone now. Medical marijuana is now my only hope because the pill problem keeps getting worse. I need that hope. I don’t want to die but I can’t live with this nerve pain. At the city hall meeting for mmj those people against talked about pain meds and pot as one and the people that used them r just the scum of the earth.the looks I got. I am sick not an addict or a bad person. I am a good caring person and didnt deserve the looks I got. I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else in this group. But I don’t see things getting better only worse in this state of FL. This group keeps growing more groups r popping up. Sorry to say but we r at war. I know how the Jews felt when Hitler came to town. People,here in FL Pam Bondi is way ahead in polls. Why she is a monster. I have new found hope from younger people voting and or getting involved in their government. But this too might take some time. Got to vote. Talked to over 50 kids yesterday at the mall about voting this coming election.they can make things better for us so u better treat these kids with respect. They r our future
WELL SHIT!!!! I JUST GOT OUT OF ICU FOR TRYING TO KILL MYSELF BECAUSE IM SO TIRED OF HAVING UNMANAGED PAIN TO BEGIN WITH HERE IN LOVELY FLORIDA……GOOD THING I HAVE A BACK UP PLAN CAUSE IM NOT DRINKING CHARCOAL AGAIN!
A husband and wife were found dead at their trailer Monday at the Groves RV Resort on John Morris Road, apparently the victims of a murder-suicide.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to unit #100 in the resort at 16175 John Morris Road at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
The sheriff’s office report said the response was in reference to a male caller advising the LCSO that he and his wife “could no longer stand the pain and that they were leaving.”
We SHOULD BE spending our time trying to take care of our pain !!! I don’t think heroin addict’s spend that much time running around looking for it on the streets !!!
I ALMOST HAD TO go that route … Because of WAY Too much pain … With absolutely no pain relieving medication Better off …going to the streets eh ???
No judgements or rationing on the streets !!! No wonder we turn to the streets for our necessary/life saving medication !!! Is that their agenda ???
Or just wait till we kill our selves because the pain is too bad ??? Kinda like genocide by suicide ?!?! It’s just unacceptable !!!
Just can’t do this anymore
I am done. Fed up of pain. Fed up of drs and people screwing my life up. Making me live in agony for no reason when they have the power to help. I only ever go to hospital when there is no other choice, when I am in a full blown life threatening crisis. I only ever cry out for support when I am at the end of my rope. But now that rope has snapped. Can’t keep asking for help and support and being rejected by everyone again and again. It is in humane to be in this much pain, it is cruel. I don’t know how much everyone expects me to deal with all the time but I am DONE. I am not living like this anymore.
I’m about done with living. This isn’t living and I hate the quality of so called life I have. This whole thing has thrown me into a fibro flare on top of my back pain. I hurt so bad now I want to die.
This is a debate question. Not a plan of action !!!! When is it okay to give up? When is it okay to want to stop this constant pain? My wife says it’s selfish for anyone to contemplate taking their life but I think it’s selfish to make someone live like this Every day …..day after day after day. Today is not a horrible day. Today is an okay day. This is a debate question. Not a plan of action !!!!
Maybe I shouldn’t ask this, but I’m absolutely at my end. Feel free to message me if you don’t feel comfortable here. I need pain meds, BADLY. I can’t go on much longer this way. I contemplate suicide daily. I’m not a good mother. Or wife. Or friend (which I’ve lost most because the pain makes it unbearable to go out and be social). I can’t work much anymore, which is putting a huge financial and mental/emotional strain on my poor husband. I can barely keep up with my housework either. I feel like a 30 year old failure. My doctor took me off of the one thing that helped me, tramadol. Since then I’ve rapidly gone down hill.
I bet no one would care if I died, so why not get it over and done with, I mean no one wants to help me. So why bother with life. I’m in agonizing pain daily. Im a looser now and always will be and I drive people away so dont bother being my friend because ill probably make u hate me like I do with everyone else.
My wife has really been struggling in the last few months. This month has especially been difficult. She has stated many times that her fibro is getting worse. She has ran out of her pain meds and became very depressed. Yesterday she tried to kill herself. I found her face down on her bedroom floor. She had overdosed on other medications and was barely conscience. Ambulance took her to er, after 5 hours a private room. She finally became alert at 11pm enough to answer questions. She was transferred to an ICU last night and today at 5pm transferred to another hospital to deal with the depression.
I know it is heartbreaking to miss these things and see the disappointment on their faces and people and family want to judge me because I have decided to end my pain on my dad’s bday and are making preparations to do so then I do not have to face begging doctors for enough ends that don’t even touch my pain and be treated like a criminal because I have multiple health issues. I give up
http://www.infowars.com/i-am-sorry-that-it-has-come-to-this-a-soldiers-last-words/
This is what brought me to my actual final mission. Not suicide, but a mercy killing. I know how to kill, and I know how to do it so that there is no pain whatsoever. It was quick, and I did not suffer. And above all, now I am free. I feel no more pain. I have no more nightmares or flashbacks or hallucinations. I am no longer constantly depressed or afraid or worried
I am free. I ask that you be happy for me for that. It is perhaps the best break I could have hoped for. Please accept this and be glad for me.
I have a family member who has been in excruciating pain for years, surgeries and injections made it worse. The only thing that gave him the slightest relief was methadone. Well, insurance changed their rules and would not pay anymore, so they have been paying out of pocket. Sunday night he snapped, couldn’t take it anymore and took his life. Why am I telling you? His family is falling apart.
Hey everyone, I am xxxxxx, 33 years old RSD both legs from thigh to toes, spreading to my hands and calves. I am the most depressed I have ever been, I lost my job, Im a nurse, nothing bad, they were just ridding themselves of Per Diem nurses so I took that hit. I am a single mother of two beautiful girls, 4 years old and 19 months old. My car is about to die, my pain is incredible and nothing seems to work,my hair is falling out root to tip in clumps, I cant stop crying, all I need is a hug. It is so hard to wake up every day and be in this horrific pain. Im out of options, I don’t have any fight left in me,im done with this.
i am seriously considering participating in Doctor assisted end of life ..reason i can’t take this pain anymore.. It’s not fair for my wife to see suffer on a daily basis.. we don’t have children.. I understand such bill is directed to terminally ill..I will find a mental health provider who will support my decision.. No body cares!.. I reach out to the medical community they use me for $$$ i am referring to surgeons and the legal community could care less.. I guess my ethnicity as a latino in spite of my american heritage is not worth the effort.. It’s not just the arch problem i have a torn theal sac and my orthopaedic surgeon has abandoned me completey.. Sure my wife’s insurance has made him rich along with my medicare due to Permanent disablity.. let’s face it.. the medical and legal community would see me as a total loser..If i hit the lottery or had resources life would be totally different in spite of my pain..I am sick and tired of the bullshit and pain that i endure each and every day…
Last night a 19 year old friend from Key West died. Pain medication overdose how sad.
This weekend has been awful. I lost 2 good friends. One died of a heart attack and the other committed suicide pain level is out of the roof
I just want to die, then I will be in peace no more pain!
Have anyone of you got to the end of the rope and want to let go. No more pain, i wouldn’t in my wildest dreams wish the amount of pain im in on my worse enemy. There is days i pray for god to end it. in sick and tired of being sick and tired. all the meds im on even meds for depression are not helping.i cant sleep, sit, stand, walk w/o being in major pain. i need help i cry myself to sleep the nights i do sleep. im at my max by the DEA law idk what else to do
Sxxxxx hung herself Christmas morning. She could no longer take the pain. She tried for a year and a half. She lost her job and had to move in with her son. She spent her last months home bound. She was very scared and alone. The pain was bad enough where she needed help getting into the bath…
Everyone please think of her today. This could be any one of us….
How much can you take? It’s not like she could put the pain away in a drawer for a while. She couldn’t just take a vacation from it. It caused her daily severe panic and fear of leaving the house…Or thinking of the future. She left no note … 12/28/2014
My late wife Karen lost her battle to Chronic Pain via suicide. I’d like to find out more about the (Cake) movie?
At around 330 am my cell phone rang and when your phone rings at that time it’s not going to be good, a very good and close personal friend of mine had been found unresponsive in her bathroom by her hubby, one of my best friends and how I met her actually, he thought maybe she had a heart attack and called 911. They get there and get her to the hospital had to shock her 5 times before they called it. Not knowing the reason they had to run to screens and do an autopsy. She was a chronic pain patient who her new PCP told her she was to young to be experiencing that kind of pain and sent her to a Psychiatrist early this week who was very nice and respectful to her and gave her phych meds and a sleeping pill. Her new Dr being a yutz that she is cut her off of her pain meds accept topomax and a muscle relaxer, this down from oxycodone and other meds. She committed suicide early this morning. Her daughter found the note along with all her personal papers including a living will that was DNR, hospital ER staff is not to blame nor the EMT’S because it has not been notorized as of yet. But this Doctor, boy this Doctor she is going to be meeting my lawyer friend I went to High School and some College with and if he can win a case before the supreme court he can kick this Doctors ass. I will also be calling the Bishop Cupich and a very old friend Cardinal Timothy Dolan who started out as a Priest and the Bishop in Milwaukee to get her a dispensation to be buried in consecrated ground and to be able to have her mass and funeral at her Church. So after typing all of this it was to say we have lost another one unable to bear the pain anymore. No she wasn’t in this group she is from Chicago area.
Filed under: General Problems | Leave a Comment »
