On October 20, 2010, Dr. Enrique Rivera Mass pled guilty in the U.S. District Court of North Dakota to an Information alleging conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance via various online pharmacies. Specifically, as part of the Plea Agreement, Dr. Rivera Mass acknowledged prescribing “at least 108,084 dosage units of a Schedule III controlled substance” and [...]
From the category archives:
Doctors
Dr. Charles McCool, a Pennsylvania doctor, was charged in Pennsylvania state court for prescribing controlled substances via an internet pharmacy to patients without a prior physical examination. Specifically, McCool was charged with one count of “unlawfully administering/dispensing/delivery of a controlled substance by a practitioner unless done in good faith in the course of his [...]
Many federal circuits permit a good faith jury instruction in cases in which doctors are prosecuted under the Controlled Substances Act. Internet pharmacy law cases involving doctors are no different. Below is an illustrative case:
U.S. v. Hurwitz, 459 F.3d 463 (2006): The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Dr. William E. Hurtwitz’s conviction due to the [...]
According to the Seattle Times, the home of Dr. Peter Pfeiffer, of Bellingham, Washington, was raided by DEA agents last Friday as a result of his alleged ties to an Internet pharmacy. The search warrant alleged, among other things, that Pfeiffer was:
writing “a very large number of prescriptions” for hydrocodone between November and February;
writing prescriptions [...]
The final rule on the “Implementation of the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act” (aka Ryan Haight Act) was published in the Federal Register Monday by the DEA and DOJ. It can be found here. It draws some interesting conclusions with respect to internet pharmacy law, and the new regulations only serve to increase already existing legal ambiguity.
{ 1 comment }
The development of Internet pharmacy law is really only in its infancy. This may come as a surprise to those who have witnessed numerous pre Ryan Haight Act prosecutions over the last five years. While there have been many indictments, convictions, mistrials and acquittals in the past few years, Appellate Courts have yet to render decisions on some of [...]
