Kratom Ban Is Absurd, Says Palm Beach Lawsuit by Former Cop UPDATED

http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/news/kratom-ban-is-absurd-says-palm-beach-lawsuit-by-former-cop-updated-8143091

Back in August, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced that it would soon become illegal to purchase or possess kratom, which is derived from the leaves of a Southeast Asian shrub and often served in drinks and teas at kava bars. As a Schedule I Controlled Substance, it would be in the same category as heroin, ecstasy, and LSD.

The response to the ban has been pretty much unanimous: This is overkill. Fifty-one members of Congress have signed a letter to the DEA asking to get it overturned. They point out there should have been a period for public comment first.

Now Michael Dombrowksi, who owns Tenaga Kava in Palm Beach Gardens, is leading a lawsuit against the DEA. He says until recently, his business relied primarily on kratom tea sales, and he’ll lose all the money he invested when he opened the kava bar in 2015 after retiring from a job in law enforcement. He also claims the economic impact of the ban — both in terms of lost annual revenue and taxes and salaries that would have been paid to his employees — would be at least a million dollars.

Dombrowski declined to comment further on the lawsuit, saying that he didn’t want to speak for the other kava bar owners — James Scianno of Purple Lotus Kava Bar in Boynton Beach and Keith Engelhardt and Thomas Harrison of Te Mana in West Palm Beach — who are listed as plaintiffs. 

His reluctance is understandable given that kratom is often plagued with controversy. There are some kava-bar owners who are vehemently opposed to its use, and it’s been the subject of lawsuits from people who claim that it’s addictive or can lead to suicide. But there’s also a considerable body of evidence that suggests it may help people overcome opiate addiction. And, anecdotally, other local kava-bar owners have seen their lounges become a safe space for people who are recovering from alcoholism.

In fact, plenty of people who sell or serve kratom support some regulation — they just don’t think it’s necessary to make it a Schedule I drug. After all, the DEA’s main argument in support of banning kratom seems to be that it contributed to 15 deaths nationwide over the past two years. Keep in mind that during that same time frame, heroin overdoses killed 108 people in Broward County alone. Is it really necessary to crack down on an obscure plant?

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that a ban on kratom was already in effect. In fact, the DEA has only filed a Notice of Intent saying that it plans to ban kratom. Also, Keith Engelhardt and Thomas Harrison are the owners of Te Mana in West Palm Beach, not Kavasutra. 

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Sherry Sherman, one of the organizers of the “Rally Against Pain” is speaking tomorrow about the rally on radio show “Medical Freedom” on WGXC 90.7 FM (waveform.org).

https://wavefarm.org/wgxc/schedule/21tvs8

The program is hosted by Heather Martin from 2-3pm, any who wish to call in with questions can call 518-589-4110.

More updates to come!

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Today I was attending a Pharmacists’ seminar and one of the presenters was a  Board of Pharmacy (BOP)  inspector for the state of Kentucky.  During the presentation, there was a list of actions taken by the BOP on various issues and one category was CONFIDENTIALITY …

I asked the inspector if the BOP had the legal authority to enforce HIPAA… and apparently the BOP of KY considers a HIPPA violation as UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT and takes actions – in the form of fines –  against Pharmacists/Techs who violates the confidentially of the pt.

After the presentation, I talked to the inspector about Pharmacists refusing to fill legit/on time/medically necessary prescriptions.. because they “felt uncomfortable”… of course… the inspector’s reply was that they couldn’t force a Pharmacist to fill a prescriptions and I questioned… could the BOP… consider such a refusal as UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT…  when a refusal was not based on medical facts but just personal feelings, opinions, biases, phobias.

The inspector’s reply was that documentation had been proven hard to obtain because the BOP had had complaints filed both by pts and prescribers.

It appears that we are back to the recommendation that I have made uncountable times before… that pts needs to audio/video all interactions with Rx dept staff.

This does not mean that every BOP will take this position of what constitutes unprofessional conduct.  I was at the special committee meeting of the FL BOP back in the summer of 2015 and a chronic pain doc asked the attorney for the BOP if a Pharmacist lying to a pt about not having inventory of a particular medication as the reason not filling a prescription.. and the attorney’s response was that he was not aware of any portion of the practice act that would cover that as being unprofessional conduct.

So it would appear that the “bar” that has to be crossed to determine if a Pharmacist is involved in unprofessional conduct depends on the interpretation of the particular BOP and some bars are very low and others are very HIGH.

So… unless pts/prescribers do audio/video recordings of the  interactions and use that as the documentation of what was said/done and/or not said/not done… and take that documentation to the BOP along with a complaint of unprofessional conduct… no one will ever know where the bar is in any particular state

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Marijuana eradication plans may stop soon

www.pulseheadlines.com/marijuana-eradication-plans-stop/51974/

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has worked with marijuana eradication programs all over the United States’ territory, using almost $14 million to operate them. Lawmakers are now considering the elimination of the program.

Already, twelve members of the Congress are pushing to ditch marijuana eradication funds and operations to use the money to fund different programs that may have a more significant impact.

Pulling marijuana is expensive

Last year, the marijuana eradication program in New Hampshire was one of the leading examples of the inadequacy of the programs to control marijuana production. Around $20,000 were used to implement the program that ended pulling a single grow site where 27 plants were found.  Utah, on the other hand, used $70,000 and no marijuana plants were removed.

However, the DEA did pull almost 3 million marijuana plants last year, and in those operations, authorities were able to seize nearly 2,000 weapons, only in California. The problem seems to be linked to the particular State, then.

The first action to improve the way marijuana eradication funds are used was to study which states needed funds and how much money was necessary for each program. This led to the elimination of marijuana eradication programs in Alaska, Colorado, and Vermont.

Kentucky, California, Tennessee, Georgia, and Washington are still receiving a considerable amount of money to encourage these programs. The first two are the states were more marijuana plants have been eradicated.

This year, for example, Washington received more than $700,000 to activate the program. These funds are considered alarming by some critics that point out that Washington is the only state where people can not grow their own plants, and recreational marijuana can only be bought in stores, while in the DC happens the contrary.

California’s status

While California is among the states where the eradication programs are effective, voters in the state will once again reconsider the legalization of recreational use of marijuana. The final decision on this issue may significantly affect the way the DEA operates in the state.

The Proposition 64 needs more than half of the voters’ population to pass, but if it does, recreational use of marijuana -and not only medicinal use- will be allowed to residents of the sunny state. So far, the drug remains illegal.

To some people, California’s choice is relevant to the rest of the nation and allowing recreational use of marijuana in this state may open the door to eliminate the federal prohibition, considering the pressure California can put in national politics.

The proposition document is backed by several companies, political actors and health professionals that have raised a significant amount of money to reinforce the campaign. Detractors have failed in trying to raise an equal sum of money for their campaign. 

Members of Congress fighting to stop the DEA

“It makes zero sense for the federal government to continue to spend taxpayer dollars on cannabis eradication at a time when states across the country are looking to legalize marijuana. I will continue to fight against DEA’s Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program in Congress and work to redirect these funds to worthwhile programs,” said Rep. Ted Lieuto The Denver Post.

Other 11 representatives in the Congress agree that the Domestic Cannabis Eradication Program must end. The DEA, on the other hand, considers necessary the aggressive strive halt the spread of cannabis cultivation in the country, considering that marijuana is the primary drug of abuse grown within the U.S. borders.

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Recovery Officials Wary of DEA Cutback on Opioids

http://www.kaaltv.com/news/rochester-dea-opioid-drugs-reduction-adult-teen-challenge/4285379/?cat=10242

(ABC 6 News) – The Drug Enforcement Agency has announced they will decrease opioid production dramatically over the next year.

They announced they will be capping the production of drugs like Vicodin, OxyContin and Demerol by 25% in 2017. The DEA says they hope to control the supply of drugs, and keep it out of the hands of people who abuse them.

However, some say this could only make things worse. 

“It could backfire on us dramatically if all of a sudden, this guy that’s got ongoing chronic pain can’t get at it. What’s your alternative? You gonna live in pain? Or you gonna do something about it?” said Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge’s Tom Truszinski.

“The people that need them are going take them and if they have to take more, they’re going to take more,” added Recovery Coach Adam Thomas. “Then the doctors are going have to prescribe more prescriptions and, you know, I hope they don’t end up going to heroin because that’ll kill them.”

Thomas says his addiction to prescription drugs, as well as many others, brought him to the point of breaking the law.

“I remember one time I broke into this one house, and there was prescription drugs in the cabinet, and I just took the drugs and didn’t really care about nothing else,” said Thomas.

On average, 50 to 75 percent of the men who walk through the doors of Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge in Rochester will have some sort of addiction to prescription drugs.

For Truszinski, he believes a pain management plan between the patient and the physician is a better alternative than capping the production.

“In a perfect world, I think the physician taking the time to appropriately and properly prescribe the medication, depending on a person’s size, their metabolism, their pain levels and their needs,” he said.

A national survey on drug use last year found that every month 6.5 million Americans over the age of 12 used drugs that were not prescribed to them. In fact, prescription drugs were more widely abused than cocaine, heroin and hallucinogens combined.

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While neither candidate has  seemingly not made a comment or commitment about what their policy is going to be that will effect those in the chronic pain community. There is a single issue that they have made policy statements on that could have a direct/indirect impact on the chronic pain community.

THE OPEN/CLOSE BORDERS ISSUES

Nearly all the illegal drugs on the street are coming from countries outside of our country – mostly from CHINA and across our southern border.  Those drugs include Methamphetamine, Marijuana, Acetyl Fentanyl, Cocaine… and other drugs.. including newly created synthetic drugs… with unknown lethal dose levels and effects and/or side effects.

There was a recent article in the Boston Globe…  Only 8.3 percent of those who died had a prescription for an opioid drug

but this fact is seldom acknowledged by the anti-opiate groups, DEA and the media. IMO, so that as long as our borders remain WIDE OPEN… the illegal drugs will keep flowing and the chronic pain community will continue to be the focus of the anti-opiate groups and the DEA… and legal pharmaceuticals will get the blame for all the opiate abuse.

CLOSED BORDERS does not necessarily mean that there is no one crossing our borders… only that there is some sort of “controlled crossing” of people, merchandise and other things coming into our country…

OPEN BORDERS… means just that… anyone, anything comes and goes across our borders without any restrictions or oversight.

If you are a chronic pain pt and you don’t have a concern about OPEN BORDERS… then whatever pain management you get or don’t get over the next four years…  then voting for the OPEN BORDERS CANDIDATE… you will be more part of the problem for the chronic pain community.. than part of the solution.

The DEA and the anti-opiate groups will be more than willing to spread more misery among those in the chronic pain community

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 American Kratom Association (AKA)

Below is link to a 35 page letter send to the acting director of the DEA  Chuck Rosenberg that the law firm hired by the AKA

hogan-lovells-letter-regarding-kratom-scheduling

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Any pharmacy in a storm: Governor eases refill rule for Hurricane Matthew evacuees

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2016/10/any_pharmacy_in_a_storm_govern_1.html

Evacuees coming to Alabama to avoid Hurricane Matthew might have many problems, but getting prescriptions filled while waiting to go back home shouldn’t be one of them, says Gov. Robert Bentley.

On Friday Bentley declared a state of emergency specifically aimed at helping storm evacuees with medication needs “of a chronic, urgent, or emergency nature.”

“The issuance of this State of Emergency today will help ease the burden on evacuees as they try to get an out-of-state prescription filled,” Bentley said in a statement issued Friday. “Evacuees will now have more time to get emergency prescriptions filled, instead of 72 hours; they will now have 30 days to get prescriptions filled.”

According to information released by the governor’s office, the Alabama Department of Public Health’s state health officer predicts “a significant number of displaced individuals” will have such needs.

According to Friday’s release, “This State of Emergency only applies to non-controlled prescriptions. The prescriptions may be refilled upon the presentation of the actual medication bottle indicating the name of the prescriber, copies of prescriptions, insurance billing report or insurance claim notification, or other documentation which would provide the pharmacist sufficient information to adequately identify the non-controlled medication and the dosage.”

According to the proclamation, state law specifies an emergency refill period of 72 hours; the document states that “under the current conditions, this time frame is both impractical and inadequate, and should be extended.”

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