And no, I have not been smoking something.... and hope I will never need to.
"DEA targets doctors linked to medical marijuana" by Kay Lazar and Shelley Murphy | Globe Staff June 06, 2014
US Drug Enforcement Administration investigators have visited the homes and offices of Massachusetts physicians involved with medical marijuana dispensaries and delivered an ultimatum: sever all ties to marijuana companies, or relinquish federal licenses to prescribe certain medications, according to several physicians and their attorneys.
Look at the INTIMIDATING THREAT to the DOCTORS!
WHO CARES if sick people are SUFFERING?!!
Oh, I forgot (harumph, harumph), this is a government that so protects and loves us it has to lie and oppress.
I need to smoke a joint and let the anger dissipate because I'm getting pissed!
The stark choice is necessary, the doctors said they were told, because of friction between federal law, which bans any use of marijuana, and state law, which voters changed in 2012 to allow medical use of the drug.
Then Holder is a god-damn liar, isn't he?
Wants to release all the crack dealers and coke heads though!
I give up, folks!
As for the friction, it is ALL BEING CREATED BY an OVERBEARING FEDERAL GOVERNMENT!
The DEA’s action has left some doctors, whose livelihoods depend on being able to offer patients pain medications and other drugs, with little option but to resign from the marijuana companies,where some held prominent positions.
So much for democracy, will of the people, voting, and all that crap. You would have to be high to believe in any of that here in AmeriKa.
The Globe this week identified at least three doctors contacted by DEA investigators, although there may be more.
“Here are your options,” Dr. Samuel Mazza said he was told by Gregory Kelly, a DEA investigator from the agency’s New England Division office. “You either give up your [DEA] license or give up your position on the board . . . or you challenge it in court.”
Mazza, chief executive of Debilitating Medical Conditions Treatment Centers, which won preliminary state approval to open a dispensary in Holyoke, said the DEA investigator’s visit came shortly after state regulators announced the first 20 applicants approved for provisional licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries.
What a $elf-$erving and corrupt fiasco that turned out to be, although I can never recall the Boston Globe or other corporate crack whore pre$$ crawling up the a$$ of some bank or other corporation like they did the pot people.
Mazza said he returned from vacation in February to find a DEA business card on the door to his home and several messages on his answering machine urging him to contact the agency immediately.
The loving embrace of the Obama administration.
The quiet DEA crackdown comes even as the US House of Representatives approved a measure last week that would restrict the DEA from raiding medical marijuana operations in states where it is legal. Senate action is pending.
Excuse me? Who riding to rescue?
Quiet crackdown, huh?
Tensions between federal and state officials have flared as 22 states, including Massachusetts, have legalized medical marijuana, many since 2010.
A spokesman for the DEA in Boston on Wednesday referred calls to agency headquarters in Washington.
It's called passing the buck, isn't it? Good thing we have the whoreporate-corporate pre$$ holding our government's and leaders feet to the fire.
Of course, one need not have read the Boston Globe to find out this was happening.
A DEA spokeswoman in Washington declined to answer questions Thursday about the doctors’ assertions that they are being asked to choose between their drug prescribing licenses and their ties to dispensaries. The spokeswoman would not say whether the action in Massachusetts is part of a national policy or limited to the state.
Physicians, dentists, and other health care providers who prescribe or administer narcotics and other controlled substances are required to register with the DEA, which tracks use of the drugs and strips federal licenses of those who fraudulently prescribe the medications.
At least two physicians resigned their medical officer positions with planned medical marijuana dispensaries in the past two weeks after visits from the DEA, including Dr. Carl Fulwiler.
Related: Medical marijuana research for PTSD clears major hurdle
I think this government is smoking something. It truly is a war government in total.
The psychiatrist was part of the executive management team of the William Noyes Webster Foundation, which was granted preliminary approval for a dispensary in Dennis, and resigned his position last week, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. Fulwiler did not return calls seeking comment.
Another physician who asked that his name not be used for fear of reprisal said two DEA investigators arrived unannounced at his office last month.
That's why I blog anonymously. It's not data-collecting government I'm worried about; it's the nut cases out there.
“DEA agents can be quite direct when they want to make an impression on you,” the doctor said.
Looks intimidating!
“My terrified secretary asked what to do with them, and I said I’d see them in five minutes after I finished what I was engaged in,” the physician said.
During a polite, 15-minute conversation, one of the officials asked “probing” questions about the dispensary’s proposed operations, while the other furiously took notes, the doctor said.
Yeah, it's such a nice government bashing your head in, keeping you down, making you suffer, keeping you sick, stealing your money.
And I'm supposed to be the terrorist?
“The gist was to get me to either relinquish the DEA license, if I insisted on continuing with the dispensary, or give the license up ‘temporarily’ while involved with the dispensary,” he said.
The investigator told the physician that if he gave up his DEA license, he could later apply to have the license reinstated if he no longer was involved with the dispensary. But, the doctor recalled, the investigator said there was no guarantee the license would be restored.
Otherwise, the investigator explained, the doctor could divorce himself from any association with the dispensary.
“I had no choice but to choose the last option,” said the physician, who resigned his position at the dispensary.
Looks like extortion, too.
Valerio Romano, a Boston attorney who represents several dispensaries, said the DEA’s action may further delay dispensaries from opening.
I'm sure that was PART OF IT! State has been dragging its feet because they didn't like us voting for it in the first place.
When state regulators selected companies in January for provisional licenses, they said they expected most would open by this summer. But since then, problems have surfaced, including misrepresentations and conflicts of interest involving several of the companies. State officials have acknowledged they did not check the veracity of the companies’ statements in their applications.
Because those companies had connections.
So HOW MANY MORE SICK PEOPLE will have to SUFFER in the INTERIM!?
State regulators say they are now conducting extensive background checks of dispensary applicants, and Romano said those checks may be prolonged now that some dispensary companies will be searching for new medical officers to fill positions vacated by physicians who recently resigned.
“In the end, what all of this means is more delay for patients,” Romano said.
Dave Kibbe, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health, which issues dispensary licenses, said in a statement Thursday that the companies are not required to have medical personnel on their management teams, and that the doctors’ resignations would not cause delays in the state program. But Kibbe said the departures may cause delays for individual dispensaries.
“When registered marijuana dispensaries experience changes in leadership, they are required to notify [the health department],” he said. “Any new [dispensary] personnel must go through a comprehensive background check as part of the department’s standard process.”
Dr. Walter Panis, chief medical officer for Alternative Therapies Group, which was granted preliminary approval by state health officials to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Salem, said he has not been contacted by the DEA, but expressed concern after learning other doctors had been given an ultimatum.
“The dispensaries need good medical information and how else are they going to get it except through physicians that are able to give that information?” said Panis, whose role in the dispensary will be to educate staff about medical marijuana and patient treatment.
Panis, a neurologist, said he needs his DEA license to prescribe certain medications. He said he would consult a lawyer if given an ultimatum by the DEA, but would probably withdraw from the dispensary if forced to make a choice.
“I’d probably resign, but I don’t want to do that,” Panis said. “I wouldn’t want to jeopardize my ability to practice medicine. Practicing medicine is the soul of my life.”
The federal government a real buzz kill, huh, doc?
I feel bad for the guy. He loves his work and this bastard of a federal government is killing his pursuit of happiness.
Mazza, the physician associated with the Holyoke dispensary, said that when he returned the DEA’s urgent messages in February, he was put on a speaker phone with three DEA officials.
“You are chairman of an organization that is going to distribute a product that is against federal law,” Mazza said the DEA officials told him.
The DEA investigators were “quite congenial” but adamant, according to Mazza, that he couldn’t keep his DEA license to prescribe controlled substances if he maintained his position at the dispensary.
Yeah, they are all good guys except when they are helping run drugs or shielding cartel murderers.
Even though Mazza has held his DEA license for 40 years, he said it was easier to surrender it than to engage in a legal battle. Mazza, who works part-time for the federal government, performing surgeries at the VA Medical Center in Northampton, said he doesn’t need the DEA license for that job.
OMG!
One Week Stay at the VA
FBI to Confine VA Scandal to Phoenix
“It was easy for me because I really didn’t need the license anymore,” Mazza said. “If I did need the license and was still in private practice as a general surgeon, I’m not sure what I would have done. I probably would have relinquished my position as CEO [of the dispensary].”
Tell that to a sick and suffering person needing a prescription.
Better yet, phony up an appointment list so you can collect a bonuses.
--more--"
"Four more doctors with marijuana role warned by DEA" by Kay Lazar | Globe Staff June 07, 2014
At least four additional Massachusetts physicians recently received visits from federal drug enforcement investigators who told the doctors they would have to sever ties with proposed medical marijuana dispensaries or risk losing their license to prescribe potent medications, according to a Newton lawyer.
That brings to seven the number of doctors who got the unexpected ultimatum from the US Drug Enforcement Administration in an action underscoring the tension between federal and state marijuana laws.
Obummer's government likes ultimatums!
Since Wednesday, the Globe has been pressing the DEA about its investigators’ actions. A spokeswoman at the agency’s Washington headquarters declined requests for an interview, and on Friday released a terse written statement.
“It is not unusual for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to contact DEA registrants,” the statement said.
“DEA enforces the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and as a regulatory agency, it also ensures that those who are registered with DEA to handle controlled substances — including physicians, hospitals, and pharmacies — are aware of their obligations under the CSA,” it continued. “It would not be appropriate to comment on specific interactions with registrants or any ongoing investigations.”
Maybe you Globe folks be getting a visit soon, 'eh? Maybe the government will even cover it up after.
Robert Carp, the Newton lawyer representing four physicians who were contacted by the DEA in recent weeks, said the doctors could face a host of related legal problems. The four are in addition to three doctors identified by the Globe in an article Friday that detailed instances of DEA investigators visiting the homes and offices of doctors to deliver the stark news.
Carp said some of the doctors he represents, who are top administrators in companies approved by state regulators for preliminary medical marijuana dispensary licenses, loaned thousands of dollars to the companies for licensing and lease fees, purchasing equipment, and hiring staff.
“They are faced with the choice that if they take the DEA at face value and leave, what happens to the contractual choices that they made?” Carp said. “Do they walk away as a physician, as an investor, or as an officer of the company?”
He said that if the doctors sever all ties, including taking back the money they loaned, they risk lawsuits from business partners who counted on that money. Their departures, he said, could leave the companies vulnerable to charges of misrepresentation from investors who put in money assuming the doctors would be involved.
Carp said he advised the doctors who received DEA visits to ask the agency for time to confer with their attorney before deciding whether to walk away from the dispensaries or give up their federal license to prescribe painkillers and other potent medicines.
What are you, some sort of domestic terrorist, doc?
Federal law bans any use of marijuana, but Massachusetts voters changed state law in 2012 to allow medical use of the drug. Massachusetts is one of 22 states that have legalized medical marijuana, with many doing so since 2010.
While courts have upheld the rights of physicians to recommend marijuana to their patients, establishing that the federal government must not interfere with that doctor-patient relationship, it is unclear whether physicians who serve in administrative roles in marijuana dispensaries are similarly protected.
Carp and other lawyers contacted by the Globe said they could find no instances of DEA investigators issuing ultimatums to physicians involved in medical marijuana dispensaries in other states.
Randi Kahn, a spokeswoman for the American Medical Association, a national physicians trade association, said she had not heard of such actions in other states, but was further reviewing the issue.
The DEA’s action has left some Massachusetts doctors, whose livelihoods depend on offering patients pain medications and other drugs, with little option but to resign from the marijuana companies, where some held prominent positions.
I know a particular president I would like to resign right now.
“We are reviewing contracts, leases, also case law for what the DEA is doing,” Carp said. “This is a new era.”
--more--"
And look who is helping light the match:
"Lawmakers slam DEA for targeting Mass. doctors" by Kay Lazar and Shelley Murphy | Globe Staff June 11, 2014
The US Drug Enforcement Administration’s push to get Massachusetts doctors out of the medical marijuana business drew the ire of members of Congress Wednesday, with one California lawmaker accusing the agency of creating an “atmosphere of fear” among physicians.
US Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, was commenting on the agency’s ultimatum to Massachusetts physicians to sever all ties to marijuana companies or relinquish their federal licenses to prescribe certain medications. He called the action short-sighted during a conference call with national news organizations.
“What they are doing, obviously, is not only suppressing doctors, but wasting resources,” said Rohrabacher, who sponsored a measure approved by the House last month to restrict the DEA from using its funding to impede state medical marijuana laws. “If they want to fight crime, let’s use those resources to hire police to come and do more patrols in neighborhoods where there is high crime.”
Look at this!
DINK REPUBLICANS riding to the RESCUE in DEEP BLUE MASSACHUSETTS!
How EMBARRASSINGLY SHAMEFUL to our SMUG, ONE-PARTY FA$CI$T (in the true$t $en$e of the word) STATE!
US Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat who cosponsored Rohrabacher’s amendment last month, chided the DEA during the call, calling the agency heavy-handed.
“It’s intimidation,” Cohen said. “We should encourage doctors to be involved with medical [marijuana] dispensaries . . . yet they are trying to run people off.”
I'm really liking Tennessee right now.
The DEA is targeting doctors who are listed as part of the management or board of directors of proposed marijuana dispensaries. These doctors, under state rules, would not be allowed to recommend marijuana for their patients.
At least seven Massachusetts physicians have said they recently received the DEA ultimatum, in an action that underscores tension between federal and state marijuana laws, the Globe reported last week. Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, while Massachusetts is one of 22 states that allow medicinal use of the drug.
The DEA notified state health officials before it began contacting doctors last month.
Oh, so the STATE GOVERNMENT KNEW ABOUT IT!
Did they tip off the doctors?
In early May, officials from the DEA met with regulators from the Department of Public Health about a variety of topics related to drug-diversion prevention and informed the state of its plan to visit doctors affiliated with proposed marijuana dispensaries, said a state official who was briefed on the meeting but does not have authority to speak publicly.
The federal officials said a doctor’s involvement with a marijuana dispensary might affect the doctor’s DEA license to prescribe or administer narcotics and other controlled substances, the state official said.
State regulators did not notify dispensary applicants of the impending federal action, but addressed any questions applicants may have raised about the issue, the state official said.
Thanks for looking out for them.
State regulators are conducting extensive background checks on applicants after problems surfaced earlier this year, including misrepresentations and conflicts of interest involving several of the companies.
The DEA has declined repeated Globe requests for an interview about its actions in Massachusetts.
That's the difference between blogs like me and the ma$$ media, or so I am told by the propaganda pre$$. They command a response from government. I don't.
“It is not unusual for the Drug Enforcement Administration to contact DEA registrants,” the agency said in a brief statement released last week. “It would not be appropriate to comment on specific interactions with registrants or any ongoing investigations.”
The agency directed further questions to the US Department of Justice, which declined comment.
Looks like the Globe is getting the bole RUN-AROUND!
Last August, the Justice Department issued a memo to federal prosecutors intended to clarify the agency’s position on marijuana enforcement, a directive that seemed to suggest it would step back from interfering with the growing number of state medical marijuana laws. But questions remain about the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.
Rohrabacher’s comments Wednesday came in a conference call that highlighted struggles by researchers to obtain federally approved marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for medical studies, as described in a new report by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and the Drug Policy Alliance.
Three cheers for Rorbacher on this one!
All but two of the nine members of the Massachusetts House delegation voted in favor of the Rohrabacher measure to prohibit federal interference with state medical marijuana laws. Representatives William Keating and Joseph Kennedy, both former prosecutors, opposed the measure.
“Our laws require federal agencies to play an active role in the regulation of controlled substances; no one drug should be an exception,” Kennedy said Wednesday in a statement. “That being said, when it comes to conflicting policies around marijuana, federal authorities need to provide clarity and transparency in their enforcement approach, so the rules of the road are clear.”
Representative Michael Capuano said he supported the Rohrabacher initiative because he does not expect the DEA to stop its actions without a “clear directive” from Congress.
“If it turns out the DEA is only taking these actions in Massachusetts, that would trouble me greatly,” he said.
The measure has yet to be voted on in the Senate, but Senator Edward J. Markey said that he also is troubled by the reported DEA actions.
“The federal government should work with Massachusetts state officials and respect the will of the people of the Commonwealth,” he said.
Oh, how often this federal government does not do what it should while it so often does what it should not.
--more--"
Of course, it's all a joke when he did it!
"Obama told the graduates that he did not remember his own graduation speaker. “I’m sure I was thinking about the party after graduation,” he joked. “I don’t remember the party, either. I’m just telling the truth here.”
That would be a first!
Ah, the stench of hypocrisy!
Sorry I didn't search for any recent links regarding medical marijuana in the state, readers. I must have forgot (blog editor rolls eyes toward ceiling).
And look who is helping light the match:
"Lawmakers slam DEA for targeting Mass. doctors" by Kay Lazar and Shelley Murphy | Globe Staff June 11, 2014
The US Drug Enforcement Administration’s push to get Massachusetts doctors out of the medical marijuana business drew the ire of members of Congress Wednesday, with one California lawmaker accusing the agency of creating an “atmosphere of fear” among physicians.
US Representative Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, was commenting on the agency’s ultimatum to Massachusetts physicians to sever all ties to marijuana companies or relinquish their federal licenses to prescribe certain medications. He called the action short-sighted during a conference call with national news organizations.
“What they are doing, obviously, is not only suppressing doctors, but wasting resources,” said Rohrabacher, who sponsored a measure approved by the House last month to restrict the DEA from using its funding to impede state medical marijuana laws. “If they want to fight crime, let’s use those resources to hire police to come and do more patrols in neighborhoods where there is high crime.”
Look at this!
DINK REPUBLICANS riding to the RESCUE in DEEP BLUE MASSACHUSETTS!
How EMBARRASSINGLY SHAMEFUL to our SMUG, ONE-PARTY FA$CI$T (in the true$t $en$e of the word) STATE!
US Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat who cosponsored Rohrabacher’s amendment last month, chided the DEA during the call, calling the agency heavy-handed.
“It’s intimidation,” Cohen said. “We should encourage doctors to be involved with medical [marijuana] dispensaries . . . yet they are trying to run people off.”
I'm really liking Tennessee right now.
The DEA is targeting doctors who are listed as part of the management or board of directors of proposed marijuana dispensaries. These doctors, under state rules, would not be allowed to recommend marijuana for their patients.
At least seven Massachusetts physicians have said they recently received the DEA ultimatum, in an action that underscores tension between federal and state marijuana laws, the Globe reported last week. Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, while Massachusetts is one of 22 states that allow medicinal use of the drug.
The DEA notified state health officials before it began contacting doctors last month.
Oh, so the STATE GOVERNMENT KNEW ABOUT IT!
Did they tip off the doctors?
In early May, officials from the DEA met with regulators from the Department of Public Health about a variety of topics related to drug-diversion prevention and informed the state of its plan to visit doctors affiliated with proposed marijuana dispensaries, said a state official who was briefed on the meeting but does not have authority to speak publicly.
The federal officials said a doctor’s involvement with a marijuana dispensary might affect the doctor’s DEA license to prescribe or administer narcotics and other controlled substances, the state official said.
State regulators did not notify dispensary applicants of the impending federal action, but addressed any questions applicants may have raised about the issue, the state official said.
Thanks for looking out for them.
State regulators are conducting extensive background checks on applicants after problems surfaced earlier this year, including misrepresentations and conflicts of interest involving several of the companies.
The DEA has declined repeated Globe requests for an interview about its actions in Massachusetts.
That's the difference between blogs like me and the ma$$ media, or so I am told by the propaganda pre$$. They command a response from government. I don't.
“It is not unusual for the Drug Enforcement Administration to contact DEA registrants,” the agency said in a brief statement released last week. “It would not be appropriate to comment on specific interactions with registrants or any ongoing investigations.”
The agency directed further questions to the US Department of Justice, which declined comment.
Looks like the Globe is getting the bole RUN-AROUND!
Last August, the Justice Department issued a memo to federal prosecutors intended to clarify the agency’s position on marijuana enforcement, a directive that seemed to suggest it would step back from interfering with the growing number of state medical marijuana laws. But questions remain about the conflict between state and federal marijuana laws.
Rohrabacher’s comments Wednesday came in a conference call that highlighted struggles by researchers to obtain federally approved marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for medical studies, as described in a new report by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies and the Drug Policy Alliance.
Three cheers for Rorbacher on this one!
All but two of the nine members of the Massachusetts House delegation voted in favor of the Rohrabacher measure to prohibit federal interference with state medical marijuana laws. Representatives William Keating and Joseph Kennedy, both former prosecutors, opposed the measure.
“Our laws require federal agencies to play an active role in the regulation of controlled substances; no one drug should be an exception,” Kennedy said Wednesday in a statement. “That being said, when it comes to conflicting policies around marijuana, federal authorities need to provide clarity and transparency in their enforcement approach, so the rules of the road are clear.”
Representative Michael Capuano said he supported the Rohrabacher initiative because he does not expect the DEA to stop its actions without a “clear directive” from Congress.
“If it turns out the DEA is only taking these actions in Massachusetts, that would trouble me greatly,” he said.
The measure has yet to be voted on in the Senate, but Senator Edward J. Markey said that he also is troubled by the reported DEA actions.
“The federal government should work with Massachusetts state officials and respect the will of the people of the Commonwealth,” he said.
Oh, how often this federal government does not do what it should while it so often does what it should not.
--more--"
Of course, it's all a joke when he did it!
"Obama told the graduates that he did not remember his own graduation speaker. “I’m sure I was thinking about the party after graduation,” he joked. “I don’t remember the party, either. I’m just telling the truth here.”
That would be a first!
Ah, the stench of hypocrisy!
Sorry I didn't search for any recent links regarding medical marijuana in the state, readers. I must have forgot (blog editor rolls eyes toward ceiling).
