Stopping prescribing opiates in 2014: indicted for “distribution of controlled substances” involving opioids

http://www.doctorsofcourage.org/margaret-easley-np/

Margaret Easley RN, MSN, FNP-C, then President Elect of the Wyoming Council for Advanced Practice Nursing, of Lander, Wyoming, received the WCAPN member spotlight in 2017 with the following accolades:

She worked with the National Health Service Corps in Colorado as a nurse practitioner to help out in underserved populations. In California she held many different positions including Chief Public Health Nursing Officer for San Bernardino County, and worked at various urgent cares in Southern California. She also served as the AANP state Representative for Southern California from 2007-2009. In 2013, she was presented with the opportunity to own her own practice as a Nurse Practitioner in Lander, Wyoming and serve the rural community providing care to an underserved area as the sole practitioner.

In 2014, she stopped prescribing opioids. But last week she became the latest victim of the government overreach into medicine, indicted for “distribution of controlled substances” involving opioids.

Now in 2017, I attended the FDA information-gathering panel in Maryland on education of health professionals on opioids. DEA Director Jim Arnold, Chief Liaison & Policy, Diversion Control Div., had the audacity to stand in front of the group and say:

“Doctors working in their offices don’t have to worry. We are only going after those selling prescriptions in Starbucks”.

Well, here is a perfect case to show that statement is a load of b___s___. Every medical professional in this country is a potential target for one simple Lortab or valium prescription. And we need to come together to fight this atrocity. Ms. Easley’s life should not come to a halt and her face financial ruin because of this massive government overreach into everyday medicine.

Another thing this case points out to me is the purpose behind it all. In the past, I considered the attacks on doctors as a means of ethnic cleansing of the profession, which I still think is a large part of it.  But Ms. Easley is a Nurse Practitioner.  You would think that, as doctors get attacked and more nurse practitioners take their place that her position in the community as a legal, unsupervised sole practitioner, would have government support.

So what is the reason for this attack, among all the others?  When you gather data, you have to look for a common cause, and the one that is staring us in the face is not good. Because I believe this single attack points to the only common ground theory of:

Legal Genocide

 

 

Ms. Easley’s clinic is in a rural, medically underserved area of Wyoming. So if the patients she treats die, the government laughs all the way to the bank. Folks, this is not a good conclusion, but it is the only one that the facts point to—the legal government-driven extermination of the “expendable” populations-the poor, elderly, disabled, and government-insured.

This case also represents the Standard Government MO:

Ms. Easley was first only charged with the first three charges of the indictment:

Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substances including Fentanyl, Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Methadone, and Alprazolam, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(b).

She was offered a plea agreement, but because she is innocent, she declined. And so the government wields their power of attempted persuasion by throwing on two more charges, with a worse possible penalty:

Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substance Resulting in Death, also in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2(b), where each carries potential penalties of up to life imprisonment.

And then, in order to tamper with the jury pool, tainting Ms. Easley’s legitimate patient care with actual illegal drug distribution, United States Attorney Mark Klaassen submits a press release in spite of court orders to the contrary, which stated

“Drug diversion cases involving opioids are a priority for this office…particularly [with] the rising tide of synthetic drug abuse involving fentanyl that can have such deadly consequences,”  “Along with DEA, we will continue to investigate and aggressively prosecute individual providers and prescribers who seek to profit from this illegal activity.”

So in a couple of sentences, the government has equated legitimate patient care with illegal synthetic fentanyl street drugs.  In reality, Mr. Klaassen should be charged with conspiracy to commit murder, as Wyoming residents with pain are now forced to the streets for self-treatment, where they are actually obtaining these illegal fentanyl-laced pills and dying. It is the GOVERNMENT that has created the fake “opioid crisis”, the increase in addiction, and the overdose deaths, not compassionate, trained professionals like Ms. Easley.

Unable to take their case before the public through the media, like the government does, a statement on Landers Family Practice Facebook page exposes the inappropriateness of the government’s release:

“ On July 25, the court unsealed an indictment accusing Family Nurse Practitioner Margaret Easley of unlawful distribution of prescription drugs. We are disappointed by the accusations and the subsequent one sided media release from the US Attorney’s office. Because the Rules of Court prohibit parties from extrajudicial statements, we will limit our statements to assuring our patients and the public that we will continue to provide quality care to our patients, we will continue to adhere to the highest standards of care and we will vigorously defend against the accusations. We call upon the US Attorney’s office to refrain from further extrajudicial statements which violate the rules of court and seek to prejudice the community against Ms. Easley based on mere allegations.

We also want to thank everyone for their love and support during this time.”

We all need to support Ms. Easley during this time of uncertainty.  Patients need to set up protests in front of the DEA and US Attorney’s offices. Set up funding for her legal defense. Don’t let another compassionate professional get crushed by the illegal bullying tactics of the US government.

2 Responses

  1. The story of how the criminal charges were levied against Margaret Easley – and specifically with scary charges added after she refused to plea bargain – shows how out-of-control the criminal justice system can become when arrests and convictions are more important than problem-solving. This is stunning and unacceptable.

  2. I think if u have evidence of pain u should be able to get pain meds this is only causing people to buy off the street, this needs to stop the people that need it should be able to receive it this is inhumane, I have gallstones, need both knees replaced and cant get a thing and now the drs aren’t even practicing, the govt are killing people and making them live miserably, someone needs to sue all of them for what they are putting people through enough is enough bunch of idiots

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