I have not seen anything that would suggest that the controlled meds allocated to this drug wholesaler – 4th largest in the country.. will be divided among the existing drug wholesalers across our country, or will what has been allocated to them JUST DISAPPEAR ?

But here is a settlement between 50 state AG’s and others that got the THREE LARGEST WHOLESALERS to agree to reduce the number of controls that they sell to ALL PHARMACIES.

Here is the SMOKING GUN to prove civil rights violations – could support a class action lawsuit – but the community needs to stand up

So now the DOJ/DEA & our judicial system has got three largest drug wholesalers to sell less controls to all pharmacies and may be cutting the controls that were being sold by the 4th largest drug wholesaler. I just wonder how many of these pharmacies that are going to find themselves without access to their normal purchases of controls are long term nursing home providers?

 

Morris & Dickson’s Controlled Substance License Revoked

https://www.policymed.com/2023/07/morris-dicksons-controlled-substance-license-revoked.html

Recently, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced that, barring a settlement, it will revoke Morris & Dickson’s license to sell and ship opioid medications and other controlled substances as of August 28, 2023. In the decision and order published in the Federal Register on May 30, 2023, the DEA affirmed a 2019 Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ’s) decision to revoke DEA registrations held by Morris & Dickson, the United States’ fourth largest wholesale drug distributor.

Background

Morris & Dickson was accused of failing to accept responsibility for its prior actions, including shipping 12,000 unusually large orders of opioids to pharmacies and hospitals from 2014 to 2018. The DEA notes that Morris & Dickson received purchases from “high-volume independent pharmacies” in Louisiana that were “purchasing quantities which were not indicative of the pharmaceutical market” and some were purchasing more Oxycodone and Hydrocodone than the larger chain pharmacies – sometimes more than 10 times the amount of narcotics the average Louisiana pharmacy purchased per month. Despite the large number of unusual orders, the company only filed three suspicious order reports with the DEA during that time frame, an indication that the company did not have a suspicious order monitoring system in place. Additionally, the company failed to maintain effective controls against diversion of drugs by distributing controlled substances without performing adequate customer due diligence.

On May 4, 2018, the DEA announced an Immediate Suspension Order on Morris & Dickson, immediately suspending the DEA Certificate of Registration issued to the company as the DEA felt that “the continued registration of this company constitutes a substantial likelihood of imminent danger to public health and safety.”

Morris & Dickson appealed that decision, and an administrative hearing was held on the matter in May 2019. After that administrative hearing, that suspension was recommended to become a revocation by ALJ Charles W. Dorman in November 2019. According to the Associated Press, the 2019 ALJ decision noted that while Morris & Dickson may have made some revisions to their procedures, anything less than revocation of the license “would communicate to DEA registrants that despite their transgressions, no matter how egregious, they will get a mere slap on the wrist and a second chance so long as they acknowledge their sins and vow to sin no more.” The judge went on to note that “allowing [Morris & Dickson] to keep its registration would tell distributors that it is acceptable to take a relaxed approach to DEA regulations until they are caught, at which point they only need to throw millions of dollars at the problem to make the DEA go away.”

However, instead of issuing a decision and order shortly after the ALJ decision, the DEA took several years. During that time, Morris & Dickson was still able to distribute controlled substances, despite the strong words in the ALJ’s decision – and the DEA’s strong words in the final decision and order. The decision and order took “longer than typical for the agency” in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by the company.

Complicating matters – and frustrating some – was an Associated Press investigation that found that a top DEA official previously served as a consultant for Morris & Dickson as part of the company’s attempt to avoid revocation or other punishment. The DEA says after the individual returned to work for the DEA, they were recused from any participation in the Morris & Dickson matter.

Filed under: General Problems