Doc Guilty of Illegally Prescribing Narcotics

[Shaka]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16864291

Brigham City Doc about to be thrown in the clink. What say you?

I was in a ward with his kid a few years back. From what I could tell they are a very nice family.

[wuapinmon]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16864291

Brigham City Doc about to be thrown in the clink. What say you?

I was in a ward with his kid a few years back. From what I could tell they are a very nice family.

I can't tell enough from the article about why they convicted him. The article seemed short on evidence.

[Gus Johnson]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=16864291

Brigham City Doc about to be thrown in the clink. What say you?

I was in a ward with his kid a few years back. From what I could tell they are a very nice family.

I can understand a civil lawsuit against a doctor who prescribes too many drugs to a patient. But unless the doctor physically forced the drugs down the patient's throat, then I see no criminal action.

Look, people need to be responsible for what they put into their own bodies. I don't see any reason to keep marijuana, meth, and cocaine dealers in prison either.

We shouldn't waste tax dollars keeping people in prison who don't present a danger to anyone else. Drug dealers, whether they're dealing illegal, or legal drugs, are not endangering anyone themselves. People who are harmed by drugs do so on their own accord, unless they're minors or mentally retarded.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I can't tell enough from the article about why they convicted him. The article seemed short on evidence.

He was passing out pain-killer/narcotic prescriptions too liberally.

[Uncle Ted]

I wonder how many of the overdose deaths in Utah can be linked to this guy's prescriptions...

A federal study of painkiller use found Utah led the nation in nonmedical use of prescription drugs in 2004 and 2005, with 6.5 percent of the population using drugs without a doctor's order.

[...]

The number of Utahns dying from prescription drug overdoses is also rising, said Christy Porucznik, an epidemiologist at the Utah Department of Health.

Per capita, Utah has one of the highest rates in the country.

In fact, in 2005 prescription drug overdoses accounted for more than twice the number of deaths from illegal drugs, although some had obtained the prescription drugs illegally, she said. Preliminary data from 2006 shows 20 percent of overdoses were caused by prescribable narcotic painkillers.

Porucznik describes the average Utahn who dies from a drug overdose as 40 years old, overweight and taking a prescription drug.

"People have the idea that it is people who are not part of (mainstream) society, but it is," she said.

Data also shows Utah's retail supply of prescription painkillers is higher than the U.S. average, Porucznik said.

[RC Vikings]

I would like to hear from the families of those he gave pills. Were they relieved that their family member could escape the pain or are they upset because the doctor helped them with their addiction.

[Gus Johnson]

I wonder how many of the overdose deaths in Utah can be linked to this guy's prescriptions...

So is it safe to say you're better off trying marijuana for acute pain before resorting to prescription drugs?

[Uncle Ted]

So is it safe to say you're better off trying marijuana for acute pain before resorting to prescription drugs?

I don't know but I think it is worth investigating.

[wuapinmon]

He was passing out pain-killer/narcotic prescriptions too liberally.

Well, too liberally for whom I guess it what I hoped the article would detail. If he's really helping people in pain, I understand that, as some physicians I've dealt with during my gallbladder days would almost pat me on the head and say "There there, now" when they would write me an Rx for stuff. The ER in my town wouldn't give me anything when I was in agony.

I would've been a sympathetic juror. But, if he was doing it as a pusher, that's an entirely different story.

However, I think we should just legalize the damned things and take this burden off the physicians.

[RC Vikings]

However, I think we should just legalize the damned things and take this burden off the physicians.

I think legalizing marijuana would be a lot less dangerous than pain pills.

[wuapinmon]

I think legalizing marijuana would be a lot less dangerous than pain pills.

Absolutely. But, legalizing everything* would be a lot less dangerous than the War on Drugs.

*By this I mean all habit-forming abuse-potential drugs. You should still go see an MD for other medicines to make sure you don't kill yourself because your kidneys or liver don't process your BP medicine correctly. But, people who abuse drugs aren't necessarily concerned about their health.

[beelzebabette]

I wonder how many of the overdose deaths in Utah can be linked to this guy's prescriptions...

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52413160-78/mackay-counts-motion-stirba.html.csp

A jury spent about 19 hours deliberating over weeks’ of testimony and evidence before finding MacKay guilty on two counts of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, three counts of use of a communication facility (telephone) in a drug trafficking offense, and 35 counts of distribution of a controlled substance.

The jury found him not guilty on 44 other distribution counts.

I would like to hear from the families of those he gave pills. Were they relieved that their family member could escape the pain or are they upset because the doctor helped them with their addiction.

Prosecutors have argued that MacKay did not conduct physical exams or question patients to determine whether they were abusing or selling the drugs, despite cases where a patient’s family member called to report prescription abuse.

I'm not sure how many of the prosecuted counts were for reported abuse and what level of prosecutorial discretion was involved, though.

Well, too liberally for whom I guess it what I hoped the article would detail. If he's really helping people in pain, I understand that, as some physicians I've dealt with during my gallbladder days would almost pat me on the head and say "There there, now" when they would write me an Rx for stuff. The ER in my town wouldn't give me anything when I was in agony.

I would've been a sympathetic juror. But, if he was doing it as a pusher, that's an entirely different story.

However, I think we should just legalize the damned things and take this burden off the physicians.

I don't follow you. Are talking about making a, currently, FDA "controlled substance" OTC, or are you talking about "the war on drugs" and lumping prescription painkillers in with cocaine, heroin, and marijuana?

[beelzebabette]

Absolutely. But, legalizing everything* would be a lot less dangerous than the War on Drugs.

*By this I mean all habit-forming abuse-potential drugs. You should still go see an MD for other medicines to make sure you don't kill yourself because your kidneys or liver don't process your BP medicine correctly. But, people who abuse drugs aren't necessarily concerned about their health.

Sorry, I didn't see you'd partially answered my question while I was typing.

I'm sure I'm about to sound fairly dumb in characterizing my understanding of the FDA process, but here goes... These drugs aren't currently illegal. They're just "controlled substances" because the FDA thinks there's benefits to their use but consequences that require physician oversight. There are cholesterol drugs and antibiotics that require physician oversight because of potential side effects. In short, "legalizing everything" is an overly simplistic turn of phrase that ignores a legitimate use for prescription painkillers that are best used under the supervision of a medical professional. To me, the charges of "distribution of a controlled substance" mean a criminal failure to maintain a standard of care with regards to these controlled substances.

[wuapinmon]

Sorry, I didn't see you'd partially answered my question while I was typing.

I'm sure I'm about to sound fairly dumb in characterizing my understanding of the FDA process, but here goes... These drugs aren't currently illegal. They're just "controlled substances" because the FDA thinks there's benefits to their use but consequences that require physician oversight. There are cholesterol drugs and antibiotics that require physician oversight because of potential side effects. In short, "legalizing everything" is an overly simplistic turn of phrase that ignores a legitimate use for prescription painkillers that are best used under the supervision of a medical professional. To me, the charges of "distribution of a controlled substance" mean a criminal failure to maintain a standard of care with regards to these controlled substances.

"Legalize everything" is really simplistic terminology. I agree. It's also never going to happen, but it's not going to stop me from arguing until my dying day that a punitive approach to drug abuse problems (used on both suppliers and consumers) does nothing but hurt us all. There has to be a better approach. All the sociological research on the subject agrees with my first point. A punitive approach does not work. As far as other approaches, there is no unified sociological opinion about what should be done. Pilot programs about legalization of certain drugs have shown the effect of actually lowering usage. However, there have been some "Hamsterdam" experiments have that gone horribly horribly wrong.

One of my family members posted this photo to their facebook wall yesterday with the following caption:

"Pull up your pants and buy a belt...pants half down, tattoos up and down your arms and neck...they don't hire you 'cause you look like you're crazy!" ~Philadelphia's (black) mayor Michael Nutter responding to rioting in his city by young black men attacking whites (with the media studiously avoiding the mention of race). This is not a problem of skin color, this is a problem of a culture of dependency, victimhood and thuggery. Many, many good blacks are also appalled by this.

I see this photo, and it doesn't make me think the same thing. This is what I responded:

Those men probably have jobs. It's just that the government has deemed it illegal, so they have to posture in aggressive ways to intimidate the competition, which would be accomplished through marketing and advertising were their trade legal, not through violence and hyper-masculinity.

[beelzebabette]

"Legalize everything" is really simplistic terminology. I agree. It's also never going to happen, but it's not going to stop me from arguing until my dying day that a punitive approach to drug abuse problems (used on both suppliers and consumers) does nothing but hurt us all. There has to be a better approach. All the sociological research on the subject agrees with my first point. A punitive approach does not work. As far as other approaches, there is no unified sociological opinion about what should be done. Pilot programs about legalization of certain drugs have shown the effect of actually lowering usage. However, there have been some "Hamsterdam" experiments have that gone horribly horribly wrong.

This prosecution is about a doctor's conduct, not "a punitive approach to drug abuse problems." If we were talking about the prosecution of one of his patients, then, sure, it's relevant. Legalize illicit drug use, and I'm still going to argue there are doctors that should be prosecuted for not taking care of their patients if they're handing out painkillers under the guise of professional conduct.

One of my family members posted this photo to their facebook wall yesterday with the following caption:




I see this photo, and it doesn't make me think the same thing. This is what I responded:

Okay.