There is no limit to the people that the government will prosecute using the Controlled Substance Act §§841 &846, to give themselves salaries and job security. Now they are attacking counselors in addiction centers.

Charles Wilson Adams Jr., 51, of Dobson, NC was sentenced in November, 2022 to two years in federal prison. Mr. Adams was a counselor from 2014 to 2020 at Pain Care Center, which has locations in Christiansburg, Lynchburg, Madison Heights, and Woodlawn, VA. The clinics focus on pain management and opioid addiction treatment. The doctors involved at these clinics are:

Lynchburg:   Debra Lynn Campbell, PCA,  Pain Medicine;
Jan Anthony Pijanowski, MD, Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine
Christiansburg: Duane Edward Dixon, MD;
Anthony Jackson, FNP-C
Madison Heights: James Frausto Devoe, MD, Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine
Woodlawn: Wendell Lewis Randall, MD, Pathology, Pain Medicine

In July, 2021, Mr. Adams pleaded to one count each of conspiring to distribute Suboxone; conspiring to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, methadone and fentanyl; and conspiring to use, in the course of the distribution of controlled substances, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration number of another person.

As part of his plea, Mr. Adams also acknowledged Pain Care Center employees pre-signed blank prescriptions for distribution to patients without office visits and employees used DEA registration numbers of medical providers to prescribe Suboxone to patients, even when those providers were in other cities or states and did not see the patients.

Sentencing occurred more than a year after his plea. It was delayed because of Mr. Adams’ assistance to prosecutors in ongoing investigative efforts which also led to his receiving a reduced sentence, according to court records. There is nothing in the media, but you can guess that the doctors involved will be next attacked. Usually, before the one gets paid for his testimony, the trial occurs. I guess they are pretty sure they will get a conviction. Being in SWVA myself, I can see that happening.

As a result of his plea, Mr. Adams had his certification as a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor suspended by the North Carolina Addictions Specialist Professional Practice Board. So he will probably never be able to serve as a counselor again. That is, unless we get the CSA repealed and all charges exonerated. That is our goal, and it can be done with the right knowledge. But until that day, there will be more suffering, more addiction, more suicides, and more professionals attacked with their lives, families, and livelihoods ruined.

I do not have a picture of Mr. Adams.  I wondered if he is black, considering his name and location in North Carolina and the fact that most professionals attacked are minority. But someone reading the post informed me that he is white.

Since his conviction, the owner of the clinics, John Gregory Barnes, of South Carolina, pleaded guilty in July, 2023. I anticipate all of the doctors at his five clinics will also be facing indictments.