The US Department of Justice outlines a procedure to dispose of excess prescription drugs safely and legally.  You may request a special agent that works in the area to assist you in disposing of the controlled substance.

The first step in the process will be to fill out DEA Form 41 and submit it to the applicable DOJ office that serves that area.  Alternatively, you may submit a letter stating the nature and quantity of the substance, how that substance was obtained and who it was obtained from if applicable.  You will need to submit three copies of this letter before the DOJ agent will decide on how the materials can be disposed of legally.

At the discretion of the special agent, you may have to pass the controlled substance to an authorized person, delivery it to the agent or destroy it with supervision.  This ensures that you will face no legal liability for those prescription drugs should they fall into the wrong hands or cause other injury.

If you are facing fines or other sanctions for the improper disposal of prescription drugs, a New York drug diversion lawyer will inform you of your rights and help you determine the extent of your legal liability.

To set up a consultation, contact our lawyers at (212) 577-6677 immediately.

Any doctor that deals with pain management will inevitable invite scrutiny from the government.  Recent initiatives against drug diversion, particularly against pain medication abuse and methamphetamines production are the reason for this scrutiny.  Keeping accurate records, adhering to a strong standard of professional ethics and proper disposal of prescription drugs and other controlled substances are essential to avoid harassment from the government.

Good records are critical in an investigation.  In your records, you will need to account for what was prescribed, why it was prescribed and the amount that was prescribed.  Failure to account for prescribed drugs will lead to not just harassment, but likely an investigation, if patients are found to have abused the mis-prescribed drugs.

Intimidation will also constitute a major portion of harassment from the government.  Although this is not the case with all federal investigations, there is the chance that an over-zealous DEA investigation will inevitably ensnare innocent doctors.

Anytime you face a government (or insurance) investigation of your pain management practice, you will need legal counsel to inform you on your rights and prevent you from implicating yourself in wrongdoing.  The penalties for drug diversion are severe and having legal counsel advising you will give you peace of mind and avoid criminal penalties.

To contact our New York and New Jersey drug diversion defense lawyers, call us at (212) 577-6677 for an immediate consultation.

Like all health care professionals, Nurses are subjected to specific requirements to upkeep a functional nursing role. Amongst these requirements, most New York State licensed nurses are required by their employers to submit to a drug test after having been identified or suspected of abusing alcohol or other drugs. Such cases happen more in hospital environments than in private practice due to a larger number of staff and an easier access to controlled substances.

If the registered nurse fails the employer’s drug test, the employer is required to by New York State law to file a report with the New York State Education Department’s Office (OPD) of Professional Discipline for further investigation and possible disciplinary action.

Nurses are often not aware a report has been made with the OPD, so when they receive a letter of a Board hearing with possible disciplinary action from the OPD or New York State Nursing Board, they are usually taken in by shock. Disciplinary actions by these two state boards may include:

• Requirement of rehabilitation and/or drug counseling for a period of time
• State licensure suspension, which may last 2 years
• State licensure revocation

Can my nursing license be saved?

In most cases, the general answer would be yes. Depending on the nurse’s case, the nurse’s license may be defended by completing the required drug-counseling program. Other considerations such as the licensee’s willingness to continue in a supportive “continuing care program”, may also be taken into consideration by the OPD.

Whether the nurse failed the test after abusing the drug for the first time or is a substance abuser, the employer is required to report the results to the OPD, which may cause a myriad of licensure issues. Although it is not required for the licensee to have an attorney present during an OPD or Nursing Board hearing, it is beneficial to have an experience and skillful licensure defense attorney present.

If you believe that the OPD or New York State Nursing Board is currently investigating your license, then call our office at (212) 577-6677 to get professional legal assistance.

A New York State licensed pharmacist is prohibited from making changes to a prescription for any schedule II drugs. The most commonly investigated prescription fraud cases involve Oxycodone, Vicodin, Valium, and Soma. Even when the prescription seems like the doctor has made a mistake with the dosage, it is advisable that the pharmacist takes the extra step to discuss the prescription with doctor and have the doctor issue a new prescription.

However, if the prescription in question is a schedule III or IV controlled substance, the pharmacist, with verification from the physician may be able to alter the patient’s address, the dosage, the strength, and the quantity of the controlled substance.

But keep in mind that all these changes may be made only if the change does not violate any New York State and federal regulatory laws or policies that prohibit changes to controlled substance prescriptions.

The pharmacist is prohibited from changing the patient’s name, exchanging one controlled substance for a different controlled substance, and signing the doctor’s name on the prescription. These acts may constitute fraud in the eyes of the U.S. Drug, Enforcement Administration (DEA), the New York State Department of Health and other regulatory departments in both the state and federal platforms.

Under these circumstances, New York State legal authorities can track and monitor discrepancies between what the physician prescribed and what the pharmacist gave to the patient can be found through the Prescription Drug Monitoring Project (PDMP), which tracks and monitors prescriptions.

If you are recently being investigated by the DEA or New York State Board of Health, for prescription fraud in New York, then call our office at (212) 577-6677 to get professional legal assistance.

Six residents from California were arrested and charged in Kings County, New York State Court for allegedly selling illegal prescription painkillers and behavior-modifying drugs to students and young professionals in New York City.

The six individuals allegedly advertised their drugs through Craigslist.com to students and young professionals in New York City. Amongst the six charged individuals, defendants Haim Avila-Romero and Mischa Pinchuk were charged with obtaining prescription drugs such as Adderall and Vicodin and sent them via FedEX to a co-conspirator in New York City, Pinchas Goldshtein.

After receiving the illegally prescribed drugs, Goldshtein would then purportedly distribute the drugs to three local dealers. All six individuals are charged with laundering over $500,000 in illegal drug money.

If convicted, each of the six individuals face more than 5 year of imprisonment.

Nassau County dentist Russell Barber was arrested in 2009 for criminal sale of prescription for a controlled substance. According to the criminal complaint, Barber, a drug addict, had been writing out prescriptions for painkillers in other peoples’ names and then filling the prescriptions himself.

Last week, Dr. Barber pleaded guilty in diversion court in Nassau County. Barber will be allowed to enter the “diversion program” established in 2009 by a change to NYS Rockefeller Drug Laws. Under the new law, criminal court judges, in their discretion, may send non-violent drug addicts to treatment instead of jailing them. Barber now has to complete an 18 months drug rehabilitation program under court supervision. Barber also had to surrender his dental license as part of the plea.