The war on drugs/pts has seemingly taken a dramatic change in direction. The SCOTUS with a 9-0 vote in the Ruan/Kahn case in June 2022 that told the DEA that they could no longer use objective criteria when evaluating how a practitioner is treating pts dealing with subjective diseases ( pain, anxiety, depression, ADD/ADHD & large spectrum of mental health issues) So apparently so that it would not appear that the DEA was involved, the 50 state AG’s & others, sued the 3 largest drug wholesalers – covers about 80% of Rx meds to pharmacies and the 3 largest chain pharmacies (CVS, Walgreen, Walmart). Apparently did not even go to trial, all just settled with paying BILLIONS IN DOLLAR FINES and also agreed for the wholesalers to sell LESS control meds to ALL PHARMACIES and those chain pharmacies to dispense LESS CONTROLLED RXS.
Pts are reaching out to me with with horror stories about their pain meds being dramatically reduced or in one case on the west coast with a Independent pharmacy that was told one day that EFFECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY, their drug wholesaler would no longer sell this pharmacy ANY MORE CONTROLLED MEDS. I am told that, this particular pharmacy had 1500 pts being prescribed controlled meds.
In the last month, I have heard about independent pharmacies that are insisting that the pt’s prescriber reduce pain meds they have been on for a long time and filling at the same pharmacy for up to decades. More of these horror stories in the last month that I have heard from the 11-12 yrs that I have had my blog. The DOJ and others have got Krogers to part with billions in fines and I have not seen the terms of that agreement, but expect it to follow the terms of other agreements with other chains.
Morris & Dickson’s Controlled Substance License Revoked this article is about the DEA intention to revoke this drug wholesaler’s DEA license at the end of Aug 2023. It is claimed that this drug wholesaler is the 4th largest USA wholesaler.
US sues Rite Aid for allegedly missing ‘red flags’ in unlawful prescriptions
Then there is this whistleblower lawsuit, initiated by 3 former Rite Aid Pharmacist with the DOJ and a attempt to claw back Medicaid/Medicare money from a six year period starting in 2014. Rite Aid maybe on financially “thin ice” about 5 yrs ago Rite Aid had a 20:1 reverse stock split to keep their stock from being DE-LISTED, then they sold about half the 5,000 stores to Rite Aid. At the beginning of 2021 their stock was worth about $25.00… it closed today (08/01/2023) was $1.71. and losing $17.24 per share
What is unknown – or at least I have not seen anything about this – will the control meds allocated to that wholesaler be re-allocated to other within the Rx distribution system or just “disappear” from the system. Likewise, if the Rite Aid chain is sold or liquidated as a “fire sale” and the controlled meds allocated to those stores be re-allocated or just “disappear” from the Rx med distribution system ?
Regardless, if fewer control meds are sold by the wholesalers and few controlled meds filled by pharmacies. The DEA may have stats that would give them justification to cut pharma production quotas of controls once again .
Filed under: General Problems
I am sickened by the whole situation pain patients are in – ALL of us, acute, chronic, and post-surgery. As AlphWolf said, when a pharmacy or other entity is cut off…what happens to the amount that was allowed?
I see a pain specialist and there were notices all over her office that if you took hydrocodone or oxy, there were shortages and the patient was responsible for finding a pharmacy ahead of the time of their monthly appointment. Pharmacies do not release that information! Fortunately, I am unaffected — NOW. My future is at the whims of the DEA, which has no training in pain medicine nor addiction medicine. I know the CSA, Controlled Substances Act gives them godly powers, but they have twisted the original intent to be used against legitimate doctors and patients. If Congress lets them lower the amounts further…I shudder at what will happen. Already, potential surgery patients are being warned DO NOT HAVE SURGERY IF THE SURGEON WILL NOT RX PROPER PAIN TREATMENT. I agree, but then again, there are those of us on pain contracts, subject to the whims of pain specialists. I am one of the fortunate — for now.
Thank you Steve, for sharing information. I value what you have to say.
Yes indeed, they’ve gone with circumvention tactics that effectively negate the SCOTUS ruling. They’ve got an agenda to fulfill and NO ONE is going to get in their way. Not even those horrible pain patients who genuinely need the medication. Because its all about prohibition by proxy. The proxies have stepped in to plug all of the “holes”, anywhere or by any means with which someone might get a prescription filled. They’re choking us off in all of the right (from their POV) places. And meanwhile, the public still thinks they’re “doing something about the crisis”, which now exists solely on the streets. I’ve just spent the last 3 days having a back and forth, mostly civil (on my end) discussion with someone who has drank ALL of the kool-aid. Patiently poking holes in the narrative, because devolving conversations don’t reach anyone. It occurred to me while doing this that the main problem for the public is that they use their own frame of reference for pain when considering what is being done. This woman told me she didn’t want to lose her license and she couldn’t get jobs if she took pain meds so she opted for Aleve. I told her that if she could get by on Aleve, I was happy for her, but the people I am referring to don’t concern themselves with licenses or jobs nearly as much as being able to get out of bed, walk to the bathroom, eat, bathe, etc. It was a long, tiresome conversation, but hopefully someone can get something out of it and understand that there are people out there who “live” with pain that is very real, significantly painful, and that the medications do exactly as they were made to. They relieve pain, which facilitates and promotes physical function. They aren’t “only” addiction traps, as so many seem to believe. They do perform an actual service. I also politely reminded her that there are 2 sides to every story. Ours isn’t being considered as it is in actuality, but as the heavily edited and redacted version, in most cases. When it comes to the media, anyway. And then we have the irritatingly vocal “experts” who just have to weigh in on every article, trying to pick apart whatever has been said. It’s no wonder if people are utterly confused or totally suckered by it all. It’s the consistent saturation of what they’re being told. Turns out it amounts to not much more than a good, old fashioned grey matter soak. It never ceases to amaze me that even people who don’t trust the media, also know the narrative by heart. Every word. This is why we don’t see any resistance. They believe the powers that be are doing the right thing. In my opinion, all that suggests is that this debacle is, and has always been, much larger than simply taking out the enemy of sinister “overprescribing doctors”, who somehow keep cropping up all over the country, as if it’s totally normal behavior for them to prescribe pain medication when it’s needed or something. No different than foreign propaganda campaigns demonizing the West. Well…except for the fact that it’s being done on domestic soil. Which should bother the hell out of just about anyone. Unfortunately, it very much seems to be only us. Until it becomes their lives as well. Then they find out the hard way they’re about to be cast into the throwaway bin right next to the rest of us. Oh, good grief. I just got notification the woman replied again. I don’t know if I have the energy today, because she seems to just want to continue spouting the same pre-fab talking points of the common narrative. But I’ll get around to it, because it’s a public conversation and these things need to be said. They need to hear. Whether they understand what they hear or not, that’s up to them and them alone. It might seem like a waste of time, but small ripples become bigger ripples. That’s why I keep at it.