Criminal Defense Attorney Analysis of Internet Pharmacy, Prescription, and Drug Law
From the monthly archives:
The DEA’s argument that online consultation services (”OCS”) are illegal under The Controlled Substances Act requires a four step analysis.
The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801-971, outlaws the distribution of controlled substances without a valid prescription;
The Code of Federal Regulations, 21 C.F.R. 1306.04(a), states that, for a prescription to be valid, it must be issued for a legitimate medical [...]
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This is the first in a series of posts outlining the major legal issues associated with internet pharmacy prosecutions. Today, I will be outlining the typical federal distribution of a controlled substance case against online pharmacies, pharmacists, doctors, and prescription website owners (online consultation and direct prescription services, as well as no record pharmacies). Note [...]
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A state judge in Albany, NY dismissed with prejudice charges against Signature Compounding Pharmacy and its executives: Chief Executive Officer Naomi Loomis, Chief Operating Officer Robert “Stan” Loomis, head pharmacist Kenneth “Mike” Loomis and business-development director Kirk Calver. The indictment alleged that Signature Pharmacy was at the center of an internet drug distribution scheme filling internet steroid prescriptions [...]
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Billy Flint East, owner of William & Mary Pharmacy, pled guilty to money laundering and the distribution of a controlled substance over the internet, allegedly filling over 5 million pills of the pain killer hydrocodone (Vicodin) with prescriptions authorized by online consultation doctors. East agreed to serve two years in prison and forfeit vehicles and cash, [...]
Tim Knettler writes an interesting article over at CheckMd.com entitled “The Perils of Internet Prescribing.” The article mainly focuses on weeding out the safe, legit pharmacies from the bad and specifically mentions the “Ryan Haight Act.” This proposed legislation, currently introduced in Congress, would require a physical examination (or, as Mr. Knettler puts it, a doctor-patient relationship) [...]
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BookofMedicine.com provides an interesting report on the Canada Pharmacy Escrow Service, a company dedicated to solving the problem of counterfeit online drugs. As one might guess, the company is an escrow service that will reship medication or refund a customer’s money, should the prescription not arrive from the pharmacy. Whether this takes off is anyone’s guess.
In my opinion, [...]
