It seems as though we cannot get through a week without hearing about controlled substance diversion by employees at another hospital or healthcare facility. We learned this week that Palomar Health, one of California’s largest healthcare districts, agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve allegations that numerous …
Last August Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recommended rescheduling marijuana from schedule I under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) to schedule III. We wondered how given that HHS and the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) conducted eight-factor scheduling analyses in 2016, concluding that there was …
Employee diversion of controlled substances from hospitals has been an issue since at least 1986 when I became a diversion investigator with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). But there has been a recent string of large civil monetary settlements, some in the millions of dollars, …
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday following confirmation by five anonymous individuals with knowledge that the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) is moving to reschedule marijuana from schedule I to the less stringently controlled schedule III. US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, …
On April 23, 2024 we blogged about Republican Senators Mitt Romney, Pete Ricketts and James Risch advising Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) Administrator Anne Milgram to consider U.S. treaty obligations under the Single Convention, 1961, when rescheduling marijuana. Later Democratic lawmakers, eleven senators and ten members …
Administrator Anne Milgram has been on the receiving end of high-level support for and against rescheduling marijuana since the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recommended the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) reschedule from schedule I to schedule III last August. …
Medicine cabinet, stuffed to the gills Capsules, liquid, patches, and pills Expired oxy, hydro, benzos, and more All kind of old meds flowing out the door We will, we will, clear you We will, we will, clear you Back by popular demand, coming to a collection site in your town for …
With apologies to David Letterman, who introduced the first Top Ten List on Late Night with David Letterman on September 18, 1985, we present “Marijuana: Top Ten Reasons for Descheduling, Rescheduling or Not.”* The wide range of assertions supporting or opposing Health and Human Services’ (“HHS’”) …
In August 2023 the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recommended that the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) reschedule marijuana from schedule I under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) to schedule III. By doing so, FDA determined that marijuana not …
Last week, in a letter thanking President Joe Biden for his leadership to federally reschedule cannabis, Democratic governors sought to make the case for rescheduling. Letter to President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., from Governor Jared Polis et al., Dec. 5, 2023. The governors (of Colorado, Illinois, …
Separate decisions by federal district courts in Texas and Puerto Rico in the past two months provide cautionary tales for every pharmacy and wholesale distributor dispensing or distributing controlled substances. On October 10th, based on ability to pay, the U.S. District Court for the Western …
The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) has issued its notice finalizing updates to its longstanding Special Surveillance List of chemicals and equipment used in the illicit manufacture of controlled substances and listed chemicals. Special Surveillance List of Chemicals, Products, Materials and Equipment Used in the Manufacture …
Medicine cabinet, stuffed to the gills Capsules, liquid, patches, and pills Expired oxy, hydro, benzos, and more All kind of meds flowing out the door We will, we will, clear you We will, we will, clear you Were the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) a rock band, it might promote the upcoming …
Scheduling Criteria Under the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) Schedule I: • High potential for abuse; • No currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S.; and • Lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision. 21 U.S.C. § 812(b)(1). Schedule III: • Potential for abuse less than drugs or …
Last week the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced that People’s Rx, a local chain operating five retail pharmacies and a compounding laboratory in the Austin area, agreed to pay $200,000 to settle allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act …
