InternetDrugLaw.com

Posted on Sunday, 10th May 2009 by dcooley

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 [...]

Tags: Controlled Substances, Criminal Appeals, Criminal Defense, Doctors, Internet Pharmacy Law, jury instructions, Pharmacies, Ryan Haight Act, Website Owners
Posted in Court Cases, Doctors, Pharmacies, Ryan Haight Act, Website Owners | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 21st April 2009 by dcooley

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 [...]

Tags: Doctors, Internet Pharmacy Law, Investigation, Ryan Haight Act
Posted in DEA, Doctors, Ryan Haight Act | Comments (0)

Posted on Wednesday, 8th April 2009 by dcooley

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.

Tags: Criminal Appeals, Criminal Defense, Internet Pharmacy Law, Ryan Haight Act
Posted in Court Cases, DEA, Direct "Script", Doctors, License Revocation, Online Consultations, Pharmacies, Ryan Haight Act, Website Owners | Comments (1)

Posted on Thursday, 2nd April 2009 by dcooley

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 [...]

Tags: Controlled Substances, Criminal Appeals, Criminal Defense, Internet Pharmacy Law, Non-Controlled Substances, Ryan Haight Act, Studies
Posted in Court Cases, DEA, Direct "Script", Doctors, License Revocation, Online Consultations, Pharmacies, Ryan Haight Act, Website Owners | Comments (0)

Posted on Sunday, 29th March 2009 by dcooley

In December 2008, I reported on an internet pharmacy case, in which Colorado doctor Christian Hageseth was being prosecuted for “practicing medicine without a license in California.”  The charge stemmed from a 2005 prescription (Prozac)  issued to  Stanford student John McKay via USAnewRx.com, an online pharmacy.  McKay later committed suicide.  Last week Hageseth pled no contest and will [...]

Tags: Doctors, Hageseth, Internet Pharmacy Law, Plea, State Law
Posted in Court Cases, Doctors, Online Consultations | Comments (1)

Posted on Wednesday, 25th March 2009 by dcooley

The judge in U.S. v. Hernandez (06-600027), a federal internet pharmacy trial in Florida (in its eighth week), has declared a mistrial, after numerous jurors admitted to doing their own internet research via their handheld phones during deliberations.  The jury was leaning towards an acquittal.
This trial has certainly had its share of distractions.  Only a few weeks prior to the [...]

Tags: Internet Pharmacy Law, Trial, U.S. v. Hernandez
Posted in Court Cases, Doctors, Online Consultations, Pharmacies, Ryan Haight Act, Website Owners | Comments (3)