Defending Pill Mill Doctors -- Give me a Break

"It is fun to kick the government around" - Purdue Pharma

Courtesy: bolsavik.com

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - I have written previous articles about the Pain Societies funded by Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, who spew the words "undertreatment of pain" in the United States.

Marianne Skolek

Purdue Pharma and these "Pain Societies" get chills when they hear the words "pill mill doctors" -- the doctors who use Kinko to print off copious copies of prescription pads to write scripts for OxyContin to patients.

In Florida, these pill mills have lines of people out on the sidewalk waiting to receive their OxyContin prescription. Medical histories and physical examinations are not part of these pill mill doctors standard of care. When word gets out on the street that a pill mill doctor is a "supplier", their practice becomes a popular meeting place. When addictions and deaths surface as a result of the lack of medical care by these "alleged" physicians, the Drug Enforcement Agency steps in. That's when Purdue Pharma and their Pain Societies yell "foul". According to them, the DEA should not have a say in the medical treatment given by a licensed physician.

But then, when the DEA steps in to investigate these pill mill doctors and closes down their drug operation, the State Medical Boards also step in and remove the pill mill doctor licenses to practice medicine. So there goes the theory from the Pain Societies and Purdue Pharma that the DEA should not be "policing" the pill mill doctors who are licensed to practice medicine. Their medical license has been taken away. Recently a newspaper story was published about a physician linked to patient deaths whose attorney has filed a defamation suit. Here's where the saying "this stuff can't be made up" comes into play. A doctor whose prescriptions have been linked by federal officials to the deaths of at least eight people is suing the attorney representing the families of some of his deceased patients, claiming the victims' attorney defamed the doctor's name in published newspaper stories. This "doctor" had his medical license revoked after an investigation by the DEA. The victims' attorney is not easily intimidated by this doctor, or the attorney filing the lawsuit. (The attorney is a relative of the "defamed doctor"). The lunacy continues with the doctor's attorney saying his client's "standing in the community has been damaged" because the victims' attorney gave an interview to a newspaper saying the doctor practiced outside normal or acceptable practices of medicine. The DEA also made strong statements about the doctor's practices when it closed down his medical office and subsequently his license to practice medicine was taken away. At the time, the DEA said that allowing the physician to prescribe controlled substances “constitutes an imminent danger to public health and safety.” So where does this doctor, whose sterling standing in the community has been damaged, go from here? Does his attorney sue the DEA agents who closed down his practice? And why stop there... Why not sue the State Medical Board for revoking his license? After all, who wants their reputation ruined in the community? And why not sue the families of the victims -- after all, if they hadn't died, it wouldn't have resulted in a lawsuit against the pill mill doctor. If it's any consolation to this pillar of the community physician, I am quite sure that one of Purdue Pharma's "pain societies" will step up to the plate to support the pill mill doctor by erecting a billboard on the highway saying the doctor did not kill anyone. They like billboards. They also like posting videos on the Internet. One was particularly offensive to me and I'm sure scores of families who have lost loved ones to OxyContin. They are quoted on camera as saying "It is fun to kick the government around." Here's my advice to pain societies to "kick around". The victims of OxyContin and their families don't like to be kicked around -- and my guess is the government agencies closing down and indicting the pill mills run by drug lords in 3-piece suits posing as doctors -- don't take to being "kicked around" either. Maybe you need to have your fun somewhere else.

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Salem-News.com Reporter Marianne Skolek, is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2007, she testified against Purdue Pharma in Federal Court in Virginia at the sentencing of their three CEO's who pled guilty to charges of marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients. She also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007. Marianne works with government agencies and private attorneys in having a voice for her daughter Jill, who died in 2002 after being prescribed OxyContin, as well as the voice for scores of victims of OxyContin. She has been involved in her work for the past 7-1/2 years and is currently working on a book that exposes Purdue Pharma for their continued criminal marketing of OxyContin.

Marianne is a nurse, having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.

oxydeaths.com/news_chilling.htm
nytimes.com/2007/05/10/business/11drug-web.html?
blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2007/07/sometimes_only_justice_can_rel.html
judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=2905&wit_id=6612
You can send Marianne an email at: mskolek@aol.com
oxydeaths.com