Marc Laruelle, MD

The DOJ is not going to listen to the SCOTUS decision of Ruan/Kahn. They never have, and they never will. The only way to free doctors and get pain management back is to learn what I teach—the REAL cause of addiction.

Here is a case to prove my point.

Marc Laruelle, MD

Marc Laruelle, MD is a 65 y/o psychiatrist who practices in White Plains, NY. He graduated with honors from the Catholic University of Louvrain, which is a French-speaking university in Belgium, in 1982. Dr. Laruelle is an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University in New York City. Before that he was a professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. Both are prestigious positions, and should be proof that he knows how to practice medicine. He has 380 publications to his credit according to Columbia University ResearchGate.  He is the editor of the book Dopamine Receptors and Transporters: Function, Imaging and Clinical Implication.

So why is he being attacked by the government?  They usually attack older doctors for their money, assets, and savings. But on October 21, 2021, 2 weeks before his indictment on Nov 4, Dr. Laruelle filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. So if there isn’t any money to confiscate, what is the point? My guess is the government didn’t know about the bankruptcy, so after targeting Dr. Laruelle, they have to proceed or have mud on their face.  So now the point of the attack is simply to justify their paychecks. So sorry, OCDETF. There won’t be any income made from your abuse of the law.

The Plea

Dr. Laruelle pled guilty to one count of distributing Oxycodone, Amphetamines, and Xanax without a legitimate medical purpose while acting outside the usual course of professional practice. My guess is that this plea is probably because, as a result of his bankruptcy, he had no money to defend himself.

According to the indictment, Dr. Laruelle’s plea agreement, and statements made in Court, the DOJ put in their press release:

Between in or about September 2016 up to and including in or about October 2021, Marc Laruelle, a licensed doctor specializing in psychiatry, prescribed more than 100,000 doses of Oxycodone without a legitimate medical purpose outside of the usual course of professional practice.  Oxycodone is a highly potent and addictive opioid that commands high prices in the black market because of demand by drug abusers. Laruelle often prescribed Oxycodone in combination with Xanax (alprazolam) and/or Adderall (amphetamine), controlled substances that are themselves frequently abused and resold illicitly.  Laruelle failed to perform proper physical examinations or medical tests prior to prescribing Oxycodone to his patients.  Laruelle also charged patients as much as $800 per prescription and prescribed large amounts of Oxycodone with the understanding that the quantity would be resold in the black market.

All of the above are flat-out lies, but that is par for the course with the DOJ and DEA. The actual lawbreakers in this case are Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Assistant U.S.A Mitzi S. Steiner, and the members of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force comprising federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies including the DEA, New York City Police Department, New York State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service, New York National Guard, Clarkstown Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, Port Washington Police Department, and New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.  You see, all of these agencies get a piece of the pie when Dr. Laurelle’s belongings, savings, and income is divvied up. That is the REAL purpose behind the attacks on doctors—money to the attackers. What’s wrong with this picture?

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said:   we will aggressively prosecute physicians who are contributing to the national opioid crisis.”

Well, then, Mr. Williams, turn yourself in to the police department!!

Let’s look at the facts

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the medications Dr. Laruelle is charged with illegally prescribing are “highly addictive”.  That is a lie.  No drug causes addiction.  I explain this over and over, and explain what the REAL cause of addiction is. This is what people need to learn and pass on in order to stop these outrageous attacks on doctors across the country. Obviously the government isn’t paying any attention to Ruan/Kahn SCOTUS decision. But as I stated in the beginning, that wasn’t going to happen. It’s a history with the government that they don’t listen to the Supreme Court, but continue their agenda. There is no repercussion for doing that, and with the propaganda against opioids, they will still achieve conviction at the District level.

For example, to get around the mens rea now required by Ruan/Kahn, the DOJ simply states against Dr. Laruelle that “he knew that the drugs – including oxycodone, Adderall and Xanax – would be distributed to others,” making him sound like a drug dealer, even if it is a lie.

The REAL Solution

Stop thinking that the Ruan/Kahn decision will get us anywhere. Doctors are still sitting in prison cells, even Drs. Ruan and Kahn. It will take a lot of money—which doctors don’t have—to go back through the court system to get previous convictions reversed. And more doctors will simply take their place. But the answer is available. No drug causes addiction. And the REAL cause is being ignored. So addiction will continue to rise, opioids will continue to be the target, and eventually they won’t be available at all. It will take 50 years to get the propaganda reversed.  But it doesn’t have to be that way. I am currently teaching what people need to know to turn this around, get the Controlled Substance Act repealed, and open the prison doors. Join me on Clubhouse Tuesday’s at 2PM ET in the room End the War on Drugs.

Addendum

Dr. Laurelle was sentenced to 4 years in prison. 

If you want these attacks to stop, you need to join Doctorsofcourage as a supporting member (link below), and work on our communication campaign to repeal the Controlled Substance Act.