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Carlos Aquino, founder and president of PharmaDiversion LLC, talks about his experience working undercover for the Philadelphia Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

…law enforcement side of prescription drug abuse—including the rise in pharmacy crime, such as robberies, and second in Pharmacy Today’s “Challenges of Pain” series. The series shows how pharmacists and their patients with legitimate pain needs are affected by issues and efforts around prescription drug abuse.

• Concern for pharmacists’ safety
• Preventing robberies: Start with the basics
• DEA adds to its focus
• GAO report: Questions raised about DEA’s approach
• GAO surveys of DEA registrants
• DEA: Patient access not affected
• Be aware and prepared

James Schiffer, RPh, associate at Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLC, discusses some safeguards independent pharmacies can implement to avoid issues with controlled substance prescriptions.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc sought to reassure doctors…that the company's decision to cut ties to a controversial specialty pharmacy would not disrupt doctors' ability to prescribe the company's drugs to patients…In a letter to healthcare professionals…Valeant would pay for the cost of its products through Nov. 8 and make sure patients could fill their prescriptions with no out-of-pocket expenses, wherever possible. Patients on government-run health plans such as Medicare are not eligible…Philidor Rx Services, will file no further insurance claims.

What happens to physician-patient confidentiality when any government agency can obtain a patient’s prescription records without a warrant? A case before a state supreme court threatens to keep these indiscriminant lines of investigation wide open…Lewis v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, a case before the Supreme Court of the State of California, calls into question whether or not the California Medical Board infringed upon patients’ constitutional right to privacy when it obtained prescription data without a showing of good cause. The board did so through the California Department of Justice database, which allows broad and indiscriminate disclosures to state, local and federal agencies—including law enforcement—and fails to adequately protect patient privacy.

DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg on Wednesday rejected the notion that smoking marijuana is "medicine," calling the premise a "joke."…"What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal -- because it's not," Rosenberg said in a briefing to reporters. "We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine -- that is a joke."…Rosenberg said that people shouldn't conflate the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana with medicinal marijuana…"There are pieces of marijuana -- extracts or constituents or component parts -- that have great promise" medicinally, he said. "But if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana -- which is what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana -- it has never been shown to be safe or effective as a medicine."

Insys Therapeutics CEO Michael Babich has stepped down, with company chairman Dr. John Kapoor taking over as CEO…The news comes as the company reported third quarter earnings…shortly after CNBC released an investigative piece…day on the company, which included allegations of fraud, kickbacks, and aggressive drug marketing…the…company…markets and sells an opioid painkiller called Subsys Fentanyl, which is administered by spray.

Settlements sought for prescriptions written in cases where doctors never met patients…Federal prosecutors in at least four states are mounting investigations into what they describe as widespread fraud by compounding pharmacies in claims to the health-insurance program that covers 9.5 million U.S. military members and their families…In the latest move, four Florida pharmacies last month agreed to pay $12.8 million combined to settle civil allegations that they falsely billed the insurance program Tricare for expensive pharmaceutical creams and gels to treat pain, scars and other ailments…Two of the compounding pharmacies...employed salespeople who paid doctors to write prescriptions to Tricare beneficiaries…In some cases, doctors would conduct telephone consultations with beneficiaries and then write them prescriptions, despite having not met with the beneficiaries in person…Those prescriptions were illegitimate because they weren’t based on genuine doctor-patient relationships, a violation of the federal False Claims Act...

University of Arizona College of Pharmacy Dean Jessie Lyle Bootman has been indicted on felony sexual assault charges, following accusations that he attacked a woman at his house…Bootman was arraigned on October 28, 2015, and pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and aggravated assault...the woman…went to the Tuscon Medical Center, where medical personnel determined she had a broken nose, serious bruising, and injuries to her lip and knee…Detectives searched Bootman’s house for evidence of sexual assault and date-rape drugs and found incriminating evidence but did not specify what it was, the paper reported…The woman told law enforcement that she did not have a prior sexual relationship with Bootman and did not give consent…The University of Arizona put Bootman on paid administrative leave from his position as dean…

DEA…today announced results from the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment, which found that drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of injury (and) death in the United States, ahead of deaths from motor vehicle accidents and firearms. In 2013, more than 46,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose and more than half of those were caused by prescription painkillers and heroin…Since 2002, prescription drug deaths have outpaced those of cocaine and heroin combined. Abuse of controlled prescription drugs is higher than that of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, MDMA, and PCP combined… Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 25 to 40 times more potent than heroin, has caused more than 700 deaths in the U.S. between late 2013 and early 2015. Fentanyl is sometimes added to heroin batches, or sold by itself as heroin, unknown to the user...