• where experts go to learn about FDA
  • Larry K. Houck

    • DEA Designates 4-Piperidone, Used in Illicit Manufacture of Fentanyl, A List I ChemicalApril 19th, 2023

      In addition to regulating drugs of abuse, the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) controls the manufacture and distribution of chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of controlled substances.  As the primary agency enforcing the CSA, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) previously designated nine chemicals used …

    • Bring Out Your Meds! Bring Out Your Meds!April 14th, 2023

      Eric Idle, as a body collector, immortalized the phrase, “Bring out your dead,” in the 1975 comedy classic, Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) could voice a modern variation, “Bring out your meds,” as the agency and its law enforcement …

    • A Long Strange Trip: Companion Bills Would Facilitate Psychedelics ResearchApril 11th, 2023

      Drugs and substances classified within schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) by definition have a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision.  21 U.S.C. § …

    • DEA To Host Supply Chain ConferenceMarch 31st, 2023

      Perhaps you obtain controlled substance quotas or submit ARCOS reports?  Maybe you identify and report suspicious orders or thefts/losses.  Or you obtain import or export permits, submit import or export declarations or listed chemical DEA-486s.  Do you want to learn more?  You have your chance. DEA’s …

    • When the Attorney General Talks (Cannabis), People ListenMarch 15th, 2023

      Like EF Hutton television commercials of the 1970s and ‘80s, when Attorney General Merrick Garland talks, people listen.  With Hutton it was about investing, for the Attorney General it is cannabis.  AG Garland most recently talked cannabis during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week …

    • DEA Reaffirms Synthetic THC Compounds Are Schedule I Controlled SubstancesMarch 1st, 2023

      The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA’s”) February 13th determination that THC acetate ester (“THCO”) is a schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) has received a good amount of attention in the cannabis press.  That determination, however, was neither a stretch nor a …

    • Two Steps Forward, One Step…? FDA Addresses Cannabidiol in the Existing Regulatory Frameworks for Foods and SupplementsFebruary 22nd, 2023

      Last October, President Joe Biden directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Attorney General to begin the administrative process of reviewing current marijuana scheduling under federal law.  Then, Congress passed and the President signed the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion …

    • Cannabis Advocates High On Recent Medical Marijuana Research LegislationJanuary 9th, 2023

      In October, when pardoning those federally convicted of cannabis possession, President Joe Biden directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) and the Attorney General “to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.”  See President Biden Gives …

    • CDC Emphasizes Opioid Guideline is Voluntary and Should Support, Not Supplant, Patient CareNovember 30th, 2022

      On November 4th, CDC issued its revised guideline on prescribing opioids for pain as an expansion and update of its 2016 CDC Opioid Prescribing Guideline.  Dowell D, Ragan KR, Jones CM, Baldwin GT, Chou R.,  CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — …

    • Retail Inventory Services Settle for Employee Thefts from PharmaciesNovember 11th, 2022

      When you have followed Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”)/Department of Justice (“DOJ”) civil settlements for as long as we have, you cannot help but think that you’ve seen it all.  Then something novel comes along.  Unlike virtually all DEA/DOJ civil settlements that we are aware of, …

    • Unlike a Cluttered Desk, A Cluttered Medicine Cabinet…October 20th, 2022

      If, as Albert Einstein supposedly quipped, a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what then does a cluttered medicine cabinet signify?  More than a mere sign, a cluttered medicine cabinet can be hazardous if it contains unneeded and expired prescription medication susceptible …

    • Biden Administration Facing Renewed Pressure to Legalize CannabisAugust 2nd, 2022

      At least one public interest group and several members of Congress remain frustrated with the Biden Administration’s failure to take action to legalize cannabis.  Within the last month, the Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (“CRCC”) and handful of Democratic Senators have separately reached out to …

    • Corporate Liability from Employee Diversion: Costly on Many FrontsJune 22nd, 2022

      On June 8, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia, announced that   Sovah Health (“Sovah”), a two-campus health system in Danville and Martinsville in southern Virginia, had entered into a non-prosecution agreement (“NPA”) and $4.36 million civil settlement due in large …

    • Attorney General Garland: Marijuana Enforcement Remains Low DOJ Enforcement Priority in States Where Activity Is LegalMay 3rd, 2022

      Last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland reiterated the position expressed during his confirmation hearing that enforcement of marijuana cases in states where activities are legal is an inefficient use of Department of Justice (“DOJ”) resources.  Responding to Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) during a Senate Appropriations …

    • “It’s In the Mail” Will Soon No Longer Apply to DEA Registration ApplicationsApril 20th, 2022

      Effective May 11, 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) will require all applications and renewals for registration to be submitted electronically.  DEA issued a final rule on April 11, 2022, eliminating the “mail-in” option, believing that initial and renewal applications submitted online will be more …