From: "Dr. C.M. Faubert" Newsgroups: alt.drugs.hard Subject: Re: Clarification to Dr. Shopping, and other threads Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 18:05:36 -0400 [...] The City of Wabash, new Hampshire is an Incorporated City in the State of New Hampshire. The City of Wabash has a City Police Department. In 1967, the City passed Public Law #67-901 - making possession of "rumgoblets" illegal. Further the City clearly indicated that it expected the City Police to enforce that Law. Now Statute #67-901 is actually a modification of the Federal Rumgoblet Law, Title 18, Section 401a - This law states that no person under the age of 21 is to be found in possession of a Rumgoblet between the hours of 8 and 10 a.m. on Fridays. Statute 67-901 provides that "No person under the age of 19 is to be found in the possession of a Rumgoblet - PERIOD. In other words, that if you are not 19 or older you can not legally possess a Rumgoblet. This is perfectly legal. The precursor to a test of law respective of the addition or modification of a Federal Statute is that the "local" or modification statute can not make the law LESS restrictive, or provide LESS a penalty. However, as statute #67-901 is MORE restrictive, and includes a harsher penalty (3 years of reading "Dear Abby" rather than a year of reading the TV Guide as punishment), this is a legal modification to the Law. So, the Police will enforce that Law. The Law is on the books. *** Now, let's take the instance we are actually discussing - the State Investigator. Their job, as defined by whatever public act or appointment created their job, is to investigate any physician that writes a certain type of prescription or perhaps more than X number in a six month period. Since their job description indicates the need to review the doctors scripts, and because the pharmacy MUST by LAW provide them with the lists of C2 and other controlled prescriptions, they already KNOW that you are receiving scripts for "Bangocet." So let's say that the Inspector is reviewing scripts from January to June of 1997, and he discovers the following records: Patient Name Doctor (DEA Number) Drug, qty, date Smythe, Joe Jones (123456) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 1-4-97 Smythe, Joe Davis (123457) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 1-5-97 Smythe, Joe Tarkis (123458) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 1-9-97 Smythe, Joe Jones (123456) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 2-4-97 Smythe, Joe Davis (123457) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 2-5-97 Smythe, Joe Tarkis (123458) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 2-9-97 Smythe, Joe Jones (123456) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 3-4-97 Smythe, Joe Davis (123457) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 3-5-97 Smythe, Joe Tarkis (123458) Bangocet 7.5mg * 60 3-9-97 Now, Inspector Calihan already knows that in this three month period, you received a LOT of Bangocet. A 60-pill script should last you 1-month because Bangocet is taken twice a day. The script itself is the 7.5mg Bangocet, which is Extra-Strength. But you are receiving the SAME script from TWO OTHER physicians, at the same time. So in effect, you are getting a three-month supply every month. (Your friends are wicked impressed by you). So Inspector Calihan feels she has a CLEAR case of abuse. She fires off a letter to all three Dr's asking them to explain the scripts they wrote to you. Each Dr. responds with a letter saying that you were injured in a slip-n-fall(tm) down some icy stairs. The Dr's mention the ER report and explain that they believe you have a mid-line disc herniation but that you haven't had an MRI or CT yet. But that they plan to. In Other Words (IOW) they have each explained that the script was "valid". Problem is, they don't know about each other. But that was what Inspector Calihan wanted to find out. Now Inspector Calihan can infer that you told three different physicians the same story, and you are obtaining drugs from all three for the same injury. So the Inspector fires off another letter, listing ALL of the scripts (see above) to each of the three dr's. Specifically asking them if they knew about each other. They didn't. It becomes VERY obvious to all that you are shopping them. Now, if you HAPPEN to be in the State of Massachusetts, those quantities are going to suggest to the Inspector that you are dealing that drug, not taking it. You and I both know that it is likely you are only a user - those are not *really* large quantities. And you and I both know that 180 pills in a month isn't really all that severe. But the Inspector only knows what she was taught in the academy - that Bangocet is cooked and shot, that a 7.5 Bangocet is one "hit" (dose) and that a dose of Bangocet is worth $40 on the "street" so that makes this a Major Felony. Her logic is that the drug laws in Mass provide that drug quantities that exceed a total of $2,500 (cumulative) are classified as a "Major Felony". So inspector Calihan notifies the State Police, Bureau of Narcotics about you. They put you under surveillance. They are going to watch you for a few months and try to build a case against you. The Dr's, OTOH, are not happy with you. So they refuse to give you anything more than a darvocet, and then only 10 pills at a time. *** [...]