The government succeeded in convicting Marcus Welby, MD yesterday in the Western District of Virginia District Court of criminal compassion. If you are old enough, you remember the character played by Robert Young in the 1970’s—the kind of doctor most of us hold in highest esteem. But thanks to the government’s inability to stop the flow of illegal drugs, they flipped the attacks on doctors in the 1990’s. “Go where the money is and the guns aren’t” as one former US Attorney explains it. The compassionate, independent physician working for the good of the patient is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The doctor-patient relationship is shattered. People need to wake up and stop the government’s gravy train instead of feeding it. Learn the truth and get your legislators to create laws that the DOJ can’t reconstruct to their own benefit.
The “Marcus Welby” is Joel A. Smithers, DO, a 36 y/o solo family practitioner willing to take care of his patients—the perfect government target.
Dr. Smithers grew up in a medical family. As a child, he shadowed his veterinary father, seeing a real country doctor in action, doing what the patient needed. His internal policy was “Do for the patients what I would want to have done to me if I were in their shoes.” And his compassion and following the Hippocratic Oath got him a prison cell and ruined life.
Dr. Smithers’ practice started out in West Virginia. But due to the government’s intolerance toward opioids, West Virginia’s OHFLAC law regulated practices allowing no more than 50% of patients on controlled drugs. A local pain clinic was shut down because it wasn’t licensed. Dr. Smithers opened an urgent care office in Beckley. He was inundated with chronic pain patients that were in withdrawal from the shut-down clinic. So he moved to Virginia. His patients followed him there because of the lack of pain management available in West Virginia. But because having patients travel from another state is justification for the DEA to charge you with a crime, he immediately became a target. This is one of the outcomes of allowing the DEA to peruse the Prescription Monitoring Programs in the states. They can target doctors simply by seeing that information, and picking the most likely to fold with a plea agreement.
The problem we are facing is rogue government agencies—the DEA and DOJ as prime examples—with an agenda to fund themselves through the hard work of good compassionate doctors. As explained in “The Criminalization of Medicine” by Ronald T. Libby (2008),
“The DEA’s logic is circular: Since pain patients are dependent on narcotics, and since narcotics are addictive, then pain patients are addicts. Therefore doctors, prescribing to addicts, some of which might be criminals, selling, or die from overdoses, are a “danger to public health and safety.”
Through this confabulated thought process, and the connection with media spewing the anti-opioid propaganda that opioids cause addiction to seal the conviction of any targeted doctor, the government has gotten away with the ruination of tens of thousands of good, compassionate doctors. Dr. Smithers is just the poster child for the illegal activity of the DOJ and the courts.
Dr. Smithers’ comments about his upcoming trial were “How can I be convicted when I haven’t done anything criminal?” A naïve belief in this country where justice is no longer a part of our government agenda. Instead, criminalizing innocent doctors for money is the agenda, and everyone involved in the trial, from the prosecutors to the judges sitting on the bench, to the public defenders assigned to “defend” the innocent collaborate together because they get to share in the take. The “criminals” in this country are those in the legal profession. They design the laws, then use the loopholes/interpretation to create crimes where there are no crimes. And for that, they get invitations to join larger, more prestigious law firms, higher government offices, and MONEY. The agencies splitting the take on this prosecution are: the Roanoke offices of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Tactical Diversion Squad; the Health and Human Services OIG, police departments of Bristol, Martinsville, Buena Vista, Roanoke and Roanoke County; sheriff’s offices of Henry County and Pittsylvania County; the Virginia State Police, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cagle Juhan, Randy Ramseyer and Zachary T. Lee. The attacks on doctors is a very lucrative business for these agencies.
The 861 counts of “illegally prescribing Schedule II controlled substances” were to legitimate patients that, in many cases, were treated for over a year. The one patient who died, and he was charged with her death, had committed suicide. When Dr. Smithers determined, through pill counts or urine drug screens, that patients were possibly not legitimate, he discharged them. He conducted his clinic in a completely lawful manner. But that doesn’t stop the government from attacking you.
Then, as in most cases, the US Attorney used civil forfeiture to rob Dr. Smithers of all of his assets so he was forced to have a public defender. The public defender assigned to him was the farthest possible in the district, preventing him from going to his office to evaluate the discovery. Don Williams’ government-paid job anyway, wasn’t to defend Dr. Smithers, it was to talk him into a plea agreement. This continued up until the trial, and Mr. Williams never worked on a defense. He refused to use me as the expert witness, knowing that my testimony could completely open the jurors’ eyes to what the government is doing. He, the judges involved, and the prosecution collaborated to create the scenario in which Dr. Smithers had no chance in court.
Dr. Smithers was taken into custody at the end of his trial. The father of 4, with a 5th due in July, will be separated from his family for possibly the rest of his adult life unless we, the American people, do something. All because the government has basically brainwashed our citizens against pain management for their own monetary interests.
This type of government action is actually the cause of the increased opioid deaths and the increase in addiction, although there is NOT an “opioid crisis” as they try to paint. That is to further their cause with more attacks on physicians for their personal financial gain. It’s a shame when the prosecutors claim the doctor is “in it for the money” when in reality, that is the prosecutor’s reason for what they do. America has to wake up and stop these illegal attacks on doctors.
Addendum:
Dr. Smithers was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
To end these attacks, restore pain management, and provide compensation to all the families that have been destroyed by government overreach, we must get the Controlled Substance Act repealed. Join Doctorsofcourage to get that done. Learn what we teach and spread the word. NO DRUG CAUSES ADDICTION!! Let’s end the War on Drugs, Doctors and Pain Patients, end the black market, solve the southern border crisis, and restore proper pain management. It CAN be done!
Addendum:
I have failed in my mission to end these attacks on doctors and pain patients. Through John Bevere’s book The Bait of Satan, I have figured out why—my lack of forgiveness to those who attacked me. As in Mark 11: 24-26:
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.
And when you do not do the will of the Father, you are estranged from him and he will ignore you. So we all must forgive the agents who attacked us in order for things to be made right through any of our works.
Jesus said
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
But we cannot lay down our lives for God unless we know Him well enough to trust Him. We must have the assurance that He would never do anything to harm us. He always looks out for what He knows is in our best interest. As a nation, those of us suffering from these attacks must understand that we are serving as God’s messengers of love. We must forgive those who persecute us and love them instead, following God’s will for us. Then and only then will we see fruits from our labor.
So I hope that everyone who has suffered from what happened to Dr. Smithers can trust the Lord, forgive those who have hurt you, and help bring this country back to the God-fearing country that our forefathers founded. Then, and only then, can you be a part of the effort to stop these attacks. I look forward to that day.
Linda Cheek is a teacher and disenfranchised medical doctor, turned activist, author, and speaker. A victim of prosecutorial misconduct and outright law-breaking of the government agencies DEA, DHHS, and DOJ, she hopes to be a part of exonerating all doctors illegally attacked through the Controlled Substance Act. She holds the key to success, as she can offset the government propaganda that drugs cause addiction with the truth: The REAL Cause of Drug Abuse.
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Big business and their “hounds” – the lawyers/politicians loves preying on compassionate scapegoats and doctors across the country are easy targets to destroy so they can hide their immoral actions to destroy society. Docs are fundamentally taught to be compassionate, caring, and humble through the indoctrinations of medical school and medical training on a daily basis, turning them all into sheep. This philosophy of training designed to be devoid of cynism in the name of patient care, although pure in nature and well-meaning, leaves most physicians completely vulnerable to the machinations and evil of businessmen and their attorneys – many of which progress to become our politicians. They know that in their social class – the physicians are the biggest suckers with no knowledge of the rules of game (invented by them), so they pounce when it’s advantageous to do so and to hide their own misdeeds from an unscrupulous public. Every step of the way, the physicians are thrown to the wolves when things don’t go their way or money don’t flow their way. In the end, when these old men are dying and realize they can’t take their money with them to Hell, they beg for the physicians to save them. Physicians across the country, losing independence day by day to the wolves, need to organize and educate themselves to protect the wolves of high society from destroying the only profession that actually gives a damn about the common man. Without a change, this society will eventually crumble and let every man/woman be their own doctor when that time comes.
All true. You need to support DoC with membership, join AUI to get our path to grievance for human rights violations, take the next ecourse I am offering in June, and be ready to take the Hippocrates Series course when it is available. Oh, and last thing, spread the word about my ecourses to everyone you know.
You know he’s currently back in county jail awaiting trial…he is going back to trial in December 2024! Still need to help him fight for it!!!
He’s got a new lawyer, Beau Brindley, Esq. – the same attorney who WON the very good ruling in “Ruan v. USA” case at the Supreme Court.
Praying for Doctor Joel and his wife Angel and their 5 kiddos!
No, I wasn’t aware of this. Thanks for the update.
Thank you Linda & God bless and god speed.
Is it possible to write to him in prison? Send him support ,money and books?. Which prison is he at now?
Thanks Dear
Thank you. Yes, it is possible to write to him. The best way to keep up with him is to google Federal Inmate Locator and then put his name in the search line. Yes, he can receive all you ask about. Prisons do have certain requirements about packages, and money has to be delivered electronically. All that information should be on the prison’s webpage.
Thanks for the defence of Dr smithers I never went to him iv read were people needed the pain meds he would prescribe them you got some faking mabey but mostly were hurting like me 35 years with type1 diabetes arthritis frozen shoulders and hips stiffened up dengenaration of lower disc in my back electrician for 30 years wore me out and high sugar and BP as well .the law or sheriffs office in martinsville va should have told Dr smithers what they were trying to do to him and his family so when and if they pain meds they could count on him Dr smithers.40 years is crazy.hes a scapegoat for someone or something.he got railroad d.i hope he wins a new trial.hope he gets out.
I’m not a doctor and I want to know what do you suppose we do? Your article prompts many people to feel like one should do something about it but what is the solution? Unfortunately, he’s been sentenced severely so, again I ask, what can we do about it?
The problem is that the government has created the propaganda that drugs cause addiction when they don’t. And because the explanation of addiction isn’t possible with conventional medicine that doesn’t really explain any disease correctly, people tend to ignore the real cause, so addiction will continue to climb. The solution is to learn the truth: the REAL cause of addiction, and teach it to others. Then the second thing is to share with others that the Department of Justice, through actual immunity, has tossed aside morals and virtue for money and jobs. They use illegal means to convict anyone they target. If we don’t stop them through laws from Congress, we will soon have a government that is lawless, and citizens who are squashed whenever the government wants. So learn that doctors are protected from prosecution by the Controlled Substance Act, and should not be convicted by it. When the population stops convicting doctors in the courtroom, and people know the REAL cause of addiction, these attacks will stop and people can be treated for pain again. I hope that makes sense to you.
Yeah, vote Trump out of office. This is his DEA he’s running like this!
Although I might agree with your politics, Trump didn’t start this. It was started in 1998, under Bill Clinton. The problem isn’t party-affiliated. They both agree on legal genocide of the expendable populations and stealing money from doctors to offset the deficit. How about swinging Libertarian? They have the right platform.
I live in metro Detroit up in Michigan and last December one of the biggest pain clinics in the state in suburban Warren Michigan was raided and closed immediately and 5 great and caring drs were all arrested. The clinic wasn’t just about pills it had physical therapy also a procedure room to give patients epiderol shots to help the nerves in the back, neck ect, and yes they wrote scripts and after years yeah they add up, but the drs were by the book if you failed drug tests they would drop you, also you had to get MRI and testing done to make sure that ppl weren’t just trying to get pills. Now 5 good men are all having their lives ruined for no good reason and it’s sad.
In Henry County Virginia illegal pharmacies thrive with the knowledge of law enforcement and county government. That is more of a problem than regulated doctors.proof is available.
I was a patient of DR. Joel Smithers. I am a retired and disabled PA-C. I have alot of health problems which leave me in pain 24/7. Dr Smithers treated me. He was very thorough and was in my opinion an excellent physician. It breaks my heart for him and his family going through this ridiculous trial and his incarceration. He did not sell ant drugs from his practice, or sell prescriptions. If someone overdosed that is the patients fault. Dr Smithers went over his instructions very clearly when he prescribed meds. If that patient overdosed, someone should be looking into the fact of suicide or addiction problems. I would love to testify on his behalf, but I don’t know who to contact. So I say to all you pompas self-centered doctors out there, It could be you . You could be brought up on false charges for anything the DOJ and DEA want to make up. The medical field has lost a very good MD, of which are few and far between in Southwest VA or anywhere in the states. I was in the medical field for 30 years as a PA-C. and I saw a lot of bad medicine practiced. I trained in Philadelphia PA where there are some top-notch MD’s, but down here there are more bad than good docs. My best to the Smithers family and especially doc. My prayers are with you, God will protect you and things will work out right with him alongside of you. MBJ
I agree the goverment are not doctors tbe lawyers are not doctors let other doctor make decision if its right or wrong
I am a former patient of Dr. Joel Smithers and am so frustrated and also sad and disheartened about what all these government agencies have done to such a fine, honest and caring physician and family man. I never saw any signs of illegal activity in his office and he spent time with his patients and tried to lower the amount of medications that many patients were taking as well as any type of opioids, The people who came to his practice were in need of chronic pain treatment, which is much different than being an addict who would steal and lie and do anything they could to use medication illicitly, illegally and with no regard for their own wellbeing or that of others. Each month all of our medications were counted to make sure there was no overuse of medications for chronic intractable pain. If someone was not taking their medication properly they were dismissed from Dr.Smither’s care and escorted out of the premises. He was not affiliated with pharmacies and would call different ones trying his best to get the most equitable prices to help his patients. After all of this happened, I was finally contacted by Don Williams, the public defender, and I felt that he was absolutely NOT able to handle this type of case. He didn’t seem to grasp the magnitude and far reaching governmental implicates and juxtapositions of manhandling of the legal systems that were prevalent prior to and during this trial. I was asked to come and give testimony for the defense but on the only day that the judge would allow me to testify, I was on a plane trying to get back to my home in West Virginia from Florida in order to give my attention to this case and Dr. Smither’s defense. After this I heard nothing and my calls were not answered. All of this has been so wrong and so mishandled and full of lies and false incriminations right down to payments made to certain people to testify on behalf of the prosecution with little regard for Dr. Smithers legal rights. I have been wheelchair bound for over 34 years and thought I had seen just about everything that could go down with this country and the legal system, but this particular case and the way it was executed against a totally innocent man who wasn’t given the support and proper legal counsel is unforgivable. Whoever took their own life did that by choice. No doctor can be held responsible for a suicidal person in my opinion. How can they possibly read into the minds of all their patients who don’t tell their doctor that they are struggling with depression and thoughts of harming themselves? These questions were asked on a regular basis but people need to be responsible and answer honestly. This has been a travesty of injustice and the price paid by Dr. Joel Smithers and his family is too high! The drug traffickers will just keep finding ways to get opioids into the hands of addicts and honest people with severe chronic pain will suffer needlessly in these “Not-So United States of America’s” as the DOJ and DEA continues it’s persecution and prosecution of good doctors. We are caught in a vicious web of lies and twisted truths about how to care for those of us who suffer by no fault of our making and doctors who care for us are run down by a government mechanism gone mad!
Please contact Ron Chapman at [email protected]. He is doing Joel’s appeal, and your information could be helpful to get his conviction reversed.
He was going to get a verdict or sentence soon. What happened?
I believe his sentencing is scheduled for October or even November. But he is currently being held in a regional jail since his conviction.
I had a neurologist physician friend get a 40 month sentence for this. 2 counts. I worked in the office. They really made an example of him. He didn’t really deserve what he got. He got caught up in the Subsys/Insys scandal.
The insurance companies were approving all the prescriptions, etc. Not overprescribed. None of us knew anything ‘illegal’ was being done.
SCAM. The CEO of Subsys was a crook and ruined others.
There is nothing illegal about making money on a product that you have created. After all, this is a capitalist country. If production of something is criminal, then Coke and Pepsi CEOs should have the first bed in prison, as the sugar and HFCS are part of the cause of addiction. And then there’s Monsanto–but you don’t want me to get on a roll.
Opioids have simply become the scapegoat, through government propaganda so that they can attack those with money to be forfeited. If we just stopped the war on drugs, closed down the DEA, and left the doctors alone, we would save billions of dollars now being shoved down a bottomless pit.
I noticed after 911 all local, state and federal law enforcers all turned into aggressive paramilitaries due to the billions of federal dollars being thrown to these agencies. They all bought new guns, bullets, and spy equipment. Many bought up surplus military armaments. They want to flex their new muscle. They want these raids to justify their outrageous budgets. The DEA is the worst. They actively pay young girls to go to clubs and concerts to hook up with anyone they can snitch on. The DEA pays young women to be honeypots to entrap people. The DEA also sell hard drugs to kids to turn them into addicts then they offer to sell them more and more until they can arrest them with a large enough amount to send them to prison. Kids who would never have done drugs to begin with had the DEA not sold it to them to begin with. So arresting doctors is nothing to these monsters.
I see you know the truth. Most people are unaware of these covert activities. Let the world know.
The truth about this story is that the DEA has always been out of control! It’s just that they have changed their target to the people who have money and resources instead of all of the poor people and minorities that they usually jail. In 1995 the LA sheriff murdered a rich man who they thought had some marijuana that they could use as an excuse for stealing his property (not even in their jurisdiction) they were wrong and he had no marijuana but they’d already murdered him. There are still thousands of African Americans in jail for having a little bag of weed destroying their lives and leaving their children fatherless so what’s the difference? The DEA’s target has more resources, Period. The war on drugs has always been an excuse for our government to do horrible things to any citizen they decide to target. Now that the war on marijuana has been derailed by the vast majority of people realizing it was a travesty they’ve moved onto another marginalized group, the disabled and doctors who have the audacity to try to help them.
Right. What is necessary is for people to learn that drugs don’t cause addiction and that the attacks on them have been political now for 100 years and needs to stop.
But, yet in big cities, they hand out needles AND drugs to take care of heroin addicts on the streets! Makes no F****** sense!
Right? If a person overdoses using a needle provided by the government who gets charged?
As an Intractable Chronic Pain Patient who lost my Pain meds after 25 years of successful treatment after my Doctor was scared by the raids of the DEA and threats by State boards on other doctors, and knowing PDMP Rx prescribing Data was sitting there for DEA & law enforcement to pick off Doctors. It’s called a Chilling effect. Arrest 2 Doctors, guilty or not, and you will effect prescribing practices in a large radius around those doctors offices.
The Us vs Them mentality:
I’ve seen so much of this working as an advocate for Chronic Pain Patients who NEED Opiate Therapy, as well as for myself.
People who have lost their meds like I did, but are quick to point out that they did so because of those “Darn Addicts” and “how dare we give them clean needles or Methadone or Suboxone.” We lost our meds because or government was pressured by a massive insurance lobby and a Pharma lobby. No more money in generic pain drugs, as most all brand rights had expired, and insurance could make more money billing for Substance/Opioid Abuse drugs, inpatient, and outpatient stays.
Let’s not ever forget who caused the pendulum swing away from opioids. It’s certainly wasn’t the 1% that were susceptible to addict if not screened out.
MANY people are now using illicit drugs are those people who used to sit in your Doctor’s office next to you in legitimate pain. They are the ones who couldn’t take it anymore and instead of blowing out their brains, the took advantage of the few options available when kicked to the curb by their Doctors and couldn’t find anyone else to take them. That could be your friend or family member.
We never know what type of physical or mental pain, mental pain can hurt as much as physical pain, as many of you can attest, a person might be going through that leads them to using illicit drugs.
Just like we expect others not to judge how severe our pain is by looking at us, or because we continue to work, take care of our kids, or push on because we have no choice… We shouldn’t presume to know what situation may have brought an individual to use illicit street drugs.
I applaud cities for implementation of these harm reduction programs, like syringe exchange. They also give Naloxone at most of these programs, which saves lives and countless $$$ on hospital stays and ambulance services. Clean syringes cut back dramatically on the spread of diseases which cost even more $$$ to tax payers.
These programs are often privately funded or funded through block grants that were already dedicated to HIV/AIDS prevention.
These exchanges collect dirty syringes and dispose of them properly. I have a family member in-law that adminsters one. I’ve seen all this first hands. Last, these programs do help get people into treatment and connect them with resources to help them get out of an SUD/OUD DISEASE. Often getting them back to work. Getting their kids back and turning their lives around.
Remember, none of us planned to need opiates to be able to live our lives (semi) normally. Just like no one plans on becoming a black market fentanyl or meth addict.
Methadone maintenance is also a harm reduction program. These clinics give 100mg-150mg+ max of Methadone a day. That’s a much higher MME than the 90 (MME) morphine milligrams equivalencies most CPP can get.
So, if you are out of options and suffer 24/7 🔥 pain, maybe you might not be as concerned about stigma or being around those born with a body whose wiring caused them to have an Opiate Receptor Disease. Or like Dr Forrest Tennant said, that undiagnosed Chronic Pain, in his research, is often triggered by a forgotten blow to the head. A mild concussion that causes the nerves to release toxins, wreaking havoc in multiple areas and ultimately leading to chronic pain.
We all need to stand together and get rid of elected officials who tell us what we can and cannot put into our bodies. This War on Drugs and it’s latest incarnation ‘A War on Pain Patients’ and on Doctors needs to end forever. Lives lives lost to Suicide due to inability to continue pain med treatment needs to be exposed!
We never know what type of physical or mental pain a person is suffering. As Intractable Chronic Pain suffers, we don’t want to be judged on our appearance or told what meds we do or do not need to relieve our pain.
People suffering from OUD can be in just as much pain, but the black market drugs could be masking that pain. Physical, mental or both! And again those could be patients who were kicked to the curb by their Doctors. You never know!
Best regards to all,
dB
My day was ruined this morning by a pompous-ass surgeon. We went to a Kiwanis breakfast at the civic center. A man sitting across from me, Dr. Kessler, noticed my doctorsofcourage t-shirt and started a conversation. Dr. Smithers’ case came up and this was the conversation:
Dr. Kessler: “you mean the one that prescribed 1/2 million pills?”
Me: “The number of pills doesn’t matter…” He cut me off, but usually when you divide the number of patients and the years treated, the number of pills prescribed is appropriate. The government just throws numbers out to the media to create the negative propaganda.
Dr. Kessler: “Oh yes they do matter. I’m a surgeon, and I’ve never prescribed that many pills”
Me: “You could just as easily be targeted…” Again I was cut off
Dr. Kessler: “I’m retired, so I don’ t have to worry”.
I could see there was no point to carrying on the conversation, so I quit. Surgeons don’t treat chronic pain–they cause it with surgeries that don’t get to the cause of the pain. Then they kick you out the door with “There’s nothing more I can do for you.”
I just wonder how many Jews in Germany stood back and said “I’m retired, so I don’t have to worry” as their business colleagues were hauled off to the gas chambers. Remember Niemöller’s quote:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Anyway, this pompous asshole is more the average than the exception in the medical community. Most doctors think they are safe from attack, and those that are attacked are breaking the law, and the government is using the law correctly. It is the fault of those in the know that don’t spread the truth that this is still fact after 20 years that this has been going on. The truth is right here on DoctorsofCourage. It is the job of the people who come here to spread the word.
To top the morning off, a 30ish year old husband and wife with 4 young children, almost the replica of Dr. Smithers’ family, sat down beside us. I just wanted to scream out to them–how would you like to be in a jail cell now for doing your job? But I didn’t. It did ruin my appetite for pancakes, though.
Losing doctors like this, that are willing to go the extra mile to help their patients (this one literally) is so disheartening and causes great harm to the whole community, especially in rural areas.
Besides the obvious harm done to him and patients, he likely had at least one office assistant and/or nurse- who are now out of a job/s, he won’t be paying rent or any more insurance premiums, then there’s the loss of customers to pharmacies…and what about his and children??
They could very well end needing at least one or two gov’t funded social programs, even if temporarily.
The DOJ and the DEA, separately and together, have been harming citizens and getting away with it for quite some time now. It’s rarely widely reported and when it is, the stories seem to disappear quickly.
When you say:
“Don Williams’ government-paid job anyway, wasn’t to defend Dr. Smithers, it was to talk him into a plea agreement.”
That’s how the justice system works for most people that can’t afford a lawyer and have to use a Public Defender. I’ve heard them referred to as “Public Pretenders”.
Also, generally, people who can’t afford an attorney, don’t have a lot assets to seize; and the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about RICO laws and/or asset seizure, is of drug cartels/ high volume drug dealers.
Although there are other times it happens, but it’s usually to make a point, it seems to me.
I hope more of the doctors this has happens to will speak out about what’s being done to them, as well as the state of the whole broken health care system.
I read an article yesterday about a doctor in India that was brutally attacked by the family of an elderly man who died.
It was on Reddit in r/medicine which, as far as I know, is mainly made up of medical providers and med students.
Comments were made saying this has been an ongoing and increasing problem, not only in parts of India, but a few other countries as well, including S. Africa and Germany.
I felt badly for the injured doctor, but couldn’t help thinking,
“Is it only in America physicians are attacked by their gov’t?”
It’s a good way to help further the gov’t condoned murder of patients, while causing dissension between groups, all while making a profit.
Have you ever heard of ALEC? I wonder if they have a hand in this whole “crisis” as well.
I first learned about them from a documentary called “Thirteenth” or “13th” and they make a lot of laws that are harmful to the public.
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/American_Legislative_Exchange_Council
Sorry the arrogant surgeon ruined your pancakes.
This makes me so sad. I have had chronic back pain issues for years. Degenerative Disc Disease. Sometimes it feels like my bones are grinding. So painful. I am so lucky to have a Pain Clinic to go to. They do the best they can. I know their hands are tied. I see it in their faces when I tell them how much I hurt. This is going to ruin our caring, Loving, Compassionate Doctors who really really care. It’s the people who take the meds to get high and mix it with other drugs that have ruined Pain Management for Chronic Sufferers. Sad but true. So much more to this story I’m sure. God Bless all of our Caring Physicians.
I think I know Dr. Kessler. He was a senior resident in Charleston when I was a third-year medical student, if it’s the same guy. Wrapped tight as a banjo string; he would grasp his gown over his stomach during surgery, trying to quell the pain from his ulcer. I helped him pick up his jeep from the mechanic shop one night; it had been there for several months, but he couldn’t get out of the hospital to get it. When we got to his house, it was very clear his two children, about two and three, weren’t really sure just who he was. He probably played the biggest role in my changing from surgery to radiology.
Linda, you are right on the money. First, surgeons don’t know crap about treating chronic pain and if he put pencil and paper to it, a physician treating only 200 patients/mo with round the clock pain prescribing only 4 -4-6 hr hydrocodone tabs/day (now a Class 2 opioid) would prescribe 288000 doses per year or 576000 over a two year period, less than this physician prescribed. The Darwin Award winners that steal prescriptions or obtain them on the gray or black market having no agonist/antagonist equation and do themselves in have created the opioid crisis, rarely the docs or pharma companies. The way this doctor conducted some of his business did not help him but 40 years…the pendulum has swung way too far and legitimate pain patients will continue to suffer. So much for the 5th vital sign.
For the persecution of innocent medical professionals and the blatant agony belayed upon suffering patients, the modern Nazism of current government entity is out of control. Why we as a country of integrity and compassion in this world of rougue disodence and cruelty have become no better. Very sad to think we can’t even control those entrusted with keeping the peace and integrity of our own laws. Perhaps the need for some of these agencies has run its course and need of an overhaul and rid the system of the draconian heavy handed Gestapo techniques.
They Have gone completely Crazy, the Government is NOW the Lawbreakers of the United States & Deserve to be held Accountable for their actions & Jailed themselves, this is insane, they are running the show & breaking the Law themselves which someone needs to stop!! They (DEA) Have gone out of control, & Lawless!!
At the same time a illegal pharmacy was operating in a Ridgeway house in Henry. County. A massive cover up by Sheriff Lane Perry and local officials followed. Even today that cover up continues.