DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA) ARMED WITH BADGES GUNS AND PROFOUND STUPIDITY NEEDS CONGRESSIONAL REFORM OR BE DISBAND

THIS PRESENTATION CONTAINS MUST SEE VIDEOS WHICH SUPPORTS THE NARRATIVE OF THIS ARTICLE

By

Norman J Clement RPh., DDS, Jack Folson RPh., RPh, Ricardo Fertil PharmD., Walter R. Clement, Bs., MS., MBA., Norman L. Clement, Pharm Tech., Martin NdJou, RPh, Jelani Z. Clement BS., MBA., Pharm Tech, Brian Olatunji, RPh.

Beyond race, it is The Drug Enforcement Agency’s stupidity, and its incompetence which troubles us more.” 

Mural found in Cape Town South Africa International Airport

“WE MUST GO PUBLIC AND CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE”

THE DEA CAMPAIGN OF STUPIDITY

Over the years, the DEA has cleverly captured the ability  to mis-classify, eviscerate patient practitioner relationships, and willfully  redefine  medical, pharmaceutical, and dental procedures to the detriment of the greater society. DEA’s policies are often in conflict with modern Public Health Medicine, which recognizes addiction, mental health, substance abuse, acute and chronic pain as diseases. (see video by Norman and Jelani Clement of US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams MD., statement on Mental Health and Substance Abuse) “Congress Must Investigate.”

photo by Norman J Clement US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams MD

We reported in earlier articles of  a disturbing trend within DEA whereby medical practitioners are being targeted.( i.)  (see videos below)

A campaign of false information has been generated and disseminated to sway the public into believing that these medications are on par with street drugs, dangerous drugs that contribute to abuse and trafficking and the so-called ‘Opioid crisis’ in America. The Agency has raided and arrested medical personnel for dispensing prescription ordered medications, particularly control medications, to the community.”

Kafk’s Curse, District 6 Museum, Cape Town South Africa

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THESE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)” 

Washington, District of Columbia, United States April 25, 2018, 10:24 am, United States Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH speaks at Behavioral and Opioid Conference on his brother Philip serving 10 years imprisonment, near D.C.,(video 1) and removing the stigma of mental and drug addiction(thru partnering) to medical and Public Health treatment. Attended by Jelani Z Clement Pharm Tech., Pronto Pharmacy and Norman J Clement Rph., DDS., Conference Office of Minority Health on Opioid Overdose and Mental Health Disparities, Hubert Humphrey Bldg.

While it is easier to divert our attention on racismo, this is only an anodyne, masking how the DEA has become the sole heinous government agency whose tactics have increased costs of medications and healthcare all across America.   They’ve accomplished this by misinterpreting the purpose and roles of medications needed to treat acute, chronic, neuropathic and psychological pain. 

MASKING

“Congress Must Investigate.” (see my skin is too dark)

These authors, have found that the DEA has unfortunately lost sight of their true mission and now effectively uses bullying, threats and intimidation tactics such as; 

1. Raids and Arrests, 

2. Forfeitures, 

3. Prison Time 

“CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THESE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DEA.”

DEA agents lack knowledge and understanding of Opioid Pain receptors, but armed with badges, guns and profound stupidity, are imposing their new misguided mission onto the medical profession; (nurses, pharmacists, physicians, dentists, drug wholesalers, and their patients)

“Congress Must Investigate.”

According to The New York Times article called Federal Agency That Fuels The Opioid Crisis written on September 17, 2018, “The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proved itself incompetent for decades.” Most notably it was reported; (see video below ” I’m not the right criteria” and my teeth are too shiny“)

THE CONGRESS MUST DEFUND THE DEA AND PHILIP ADAMS MUST BE RELEASE FROM PRISON

“The agency’s enforcement strategies, and the support it has lent to local and state police departments, have also fueled abusive police tactics including dangerous no-knock-raids and ethnic profiling of drivers. It has eroded civil liberties through the expansion of warrantless surveillance, and overseen arbitrary seizures of billions of dollars of private property without any clear connection to drug-related crimes. These actions have disproportionately targeted people of color, contributing to disparities in mass incarceration, confiscated property, and collective trauma.”

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THESE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)”

Authors Professor Leo Beletsky and Jeremiah Goulka further reported: 

1. “ The Drug Enforcement Administration, the agency that most directly oversees access to opioids, deserves much of the blame for these deaths. Because of its incompetence, the opioid crisis has gone from bad to worse. The solution: overhauling the agency, or even getting rid of it entirely.”

2. “The problem begins with poor design. A brainchild of Richard Nixon’s “war on drugs,” the agency sought to cut off supplies of drugs on the black market, here and abroad. But in passing the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, Congress also gave the agency broad authority over how prescription opioids and other controlled substances were classified, produced and distributed.” 

3. “The agency was supposed to curb problematic drug use, but failed to do so because its tactics were never informed by public health or addiction science.(iii.) Despite the investment of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars and the earnest efforts of thousands of employees, the D.E.A.’s track record is abysmal.” “Congress Must Investigate.”

4. “The agency has been unable to balance legitimate access to and control of prescription drugs. The widespread over-reliance on opioids, along with benzodiazepines, amphetamines and other scheduled medications, has created a booming black market.” “Congress Must Investigate.”

THE DEA’s RED FLAGS PILL MILLS, COCKTAILS AND HOLY GRAILS (TRINITY) vs THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PAIN, ANXIETY AND SLEEP DISORDERS

Pain Management is a very complex issue.  More often than not in chronic (non-acute) pain which is considered a disease, comorbidities need to be addressed.(iv.)  We further must have a basic understanding of pain patho-physiology and neuroscience and the basic structures and function of the nervous system which is a complex structure that coordinates voluntary and involuntary actions by transmitting signals to and from different parts of the body.(v.) (see video below “then I was Red Flagged”)

Pain is a complex and subjective experience initiated by an unpleasant (or noxious) stimulus associated with actual or potential tissue damage. Pain is a primitive response that motivates us to withdraw from the source that is causing the pain and protect the body from further damage.  The unpleasant feeling associated with pain is also stored in our memory so that we can avoid similar situations in future.(vi.) While the pain complex may seemingly be intimidating, its basic understanding is not all that difficult. 

According to LP-3 network, Publication PAIN: PATHO-PHYISIOLGY AND NEUROSCIENCE; (must see video I have an artificial from tractor injury)

5. “The nervous system is divided into two main parts: the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS). The CNS consists of the brain and spinal cord, while the PNS consists of all the nerves that branch out of the spinal cord into the body.” 

6. “The PNS is divided into the somatic, autonomic, and enteric nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible for transmitting information from motor and sensory neurons to the CNS. 

7. “The autonomic nervous system is largely responsible for regulating autonomic functions, such as digestion, respiratory and heart rate, pupillary response, and certain reflexes (e.g., coughing, sneezing, swallowing, and vomiting)  activities that occurs in response to a perceived harmful event, attack, or threat to survival i.e. fight-or-flight response.

Figure 1. The nervous system: CNS and PNS (left) and autonomic nervous system (right).Image modified from http://www.biologyreference.com/Oc-Ph/Peripheral-Nervous-System.html.. The nervo: pastedGraphic.png

Types of Pain 

According to LP3 Network, Pain: Patho-Physiology and Neuroscience, “it is important to remember that pain is a multidimensional sensory experience. Pain may vary in intensity (mild, moderate, or severe), quality (sharp, burning, or dull), duration (transient, intermitent, or persistent), and dermatomal or referred (from somatic or visceral structures). “

LP3 Network, Pain; Patho-Physiology, points out, “Pain can be classified in terms of its duration, etiology, and physiology, namely as acute or chronic pain.” (see “video not being judged by the mile marker in Durbanville, South Africa)

Acute pain, usually follows a physical injury, is transient and resolves with healing. Conversely, Chronic pain, is often defined as any pain lasting more than 12 weeks, which usually has unclear etiology or multiple causes, persisting even after healing. Acute pain usually serves a protective function, whereas chronic pain usually performs no adaptive function.”(v.) 

Carrollwood Country Club, Tampa, Florida

More importantly, LP3 Network defines, “An example of acute pain is touching a very hot object. The brief exposure to this hot object will cause a rapid but brief pain sensation and initiate a withdrawal reflex to prevent and/or minimize tissue injury. In so doing, this type of pain also serves a protective (or adaptive) function because it protects the individual from further injury.”(v) 

Kalbaka, Trikala, Greece

“Hence, acute pain is often categorized as adaptive pain. In contrast, chronic pain is often categorized as maladaptive pain as it serves no protective function, but instead results from abnormal functioning or damage to the nervous system.” “Maladaptive pain is not associated with noxious stimuli but to abnormal sensory processing. In addition to these categories, pain can be separated into the following different types of pain: nociceptive, inflammatory, neuropathic, and functional. “

Nociceptive Pain 

Nociceptive pain, according to LP3-Network Pain; Patho-Physiology,  “results from noxious stimuli that are either mechanical, thermal, or chemical, and that elicit tissue damage and activate nociceptors. This type of pain can further be divided into somatic pain, which affects somatic structures; visceral pain, which affects visceral structures; and inflammatory pain, which results from the release of inflammatory substances in the periphery by cells in the affected area. “(v)

Pain; Patho-Physiology, states, “Nociceptive pain usually results from tissue damage following injury (e.g., surgery, trauma, or wounds). At times nociceptive pain can persist after healing and cause chronic pain (e.g., after surgery). “

Archea Olympia, Elis, Greece

Therefore, it is very important to treat acute pain to prevent it from becoming chronic pain.  “The treatment of nociceptive pain usually involves analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and Na+ channel blockers.” 

“Opioid medications (narcotic analgesics) can also be used in the treatment of pain because peripheral opioid receptors are increased after an inflammatory response,” as clearly define in the Pain; Patho-Physiology.(vi)

Neurogenic Pain 

“Neurogenic pain is a direct consequence of diseases that affect the somatosensory system. Neurogenic pain can further be divided into neuropathic and functional pain. Neuropathic pain often results from lesions to the PNS and CNS.  For example, neuropathic pain that occurs from CNS lesions includes diabetic neuropathy or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) polyneuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, or lumbar radiculopathy.” 

Groot Constania, Southern Suburb, South Africa

Pain; Patho-Physiology by LP3 Network states, “Neuropathic pain that results from lesions to the nervous system include spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, or a stroke. Functional pain is different from neuropathic pain in that it occurs in the absence of a defined anatomic lesion within the nervous system.” 

LP3-Network Pain; Path-Physiology further states and reports, “Instead, functional pain results from an abnormal responsiveness or function of the nervous system. In other words, functional pain occurs from the dysfunction of pain modulation mechanisms, such as the activation of endogenous excitatory systems that amplify nociceptive signals or the dysfunction of inhibitory mechanisms.”(vii.) (must see video OPA)

Thalamic pain syndrome, which usually occurs after a thalamic stroke or lesion to the thalamic nuclei, is an example of functional pain. The thalamus contains many inhibitory interneurons that can modulate transmissions to the brain.” 

Therefore, “a lesion to the thalamic nuclei can often cause hyperactivity of the thalamic neurons, which are normally inhibited by a complex network of interneurons, to cause an intense pain covering a large part of the body. “

“Other examples of functional pain include fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, and some forms of noncardiac chest pains. The treatment of neurogenic pain often involves using pharmacologic approaches that reverse or reduce the hyperactivity of nociceptive neurons or activation of endogenous inhibition. For example, opioids, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, and cannabinoids are used to treat neurogenic pain. “(viii)

Groot Constantia, Winery , South Africa

Therefore, when a practitioner finds a combination of medications that successfully treats chronic pain, they are reluctant to stray from that protocol.  It’s akin to other protocols that are used in medicine that address chronic conditions such as cancer protocols, ALS protocols, hypertension step-care therapy, anti-coagulation protocols and others.  

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)”

(see video “Walgreens says I’m a dope addict”)

Typically, there is inflammation and therefore non-steroidal anti-inflammatories are used.  Patients often experience anxiety so anti-anxiety agents such as benzodiazepines or tricyclics are used.  In nociceptive pain, Gabapentin is often the first drug of choice.  In lower back pain, whose underlying causes can be quite different from each other the presentation of muscle spasm or hypersensitivity, muscle relaxers such as cyclobenzaprine, metaxolone, baclofen, carisoprodol or others represent standard therapy.

DRUG ADDICTION IS NOT A CRIME

It is unreasonable to expect a Diversion Investigator to have a complete understanding of these complex issues. Notwithstanding the basic foundation of patho-physiology is not in their 12-week course as compared to Physicians and Pharmacists requiring years of training to make adequate choices in this arena.  

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE”

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH 

According to Professor Leo Beletsky and Jeremiah Goulka, (ii.) Director of Northeastern University’s Health in Justice Action Lab, where Jeremiah Goulka is a senior fellow in their September 17, 2018 New York Times article; “Congress Must Investigate.”

9.“Overdose deaths soared since so many people were prescribed opioids and many mixed them with alcohol and other sedative drugs. The D.E.A. could have marshaled a calibrated response, expanding evidence-based treatment and reducing the prescription of especially risky drug combinations.” “The Congress Must Investigate.”

10. “Meanwhile, lifesaving opioid treatments that the D.E.A. closely regulates, like methadone, have remained extremely difficult to obtain. Indeed, these problems were much broader than the alleged industry machinations to muzzle the agency.“(ii)

11.“Instead, the agency pushed for surveillance of prescription records and electronic communication, doubled down on prosecuting prescribers and helped to tighten the screws on patients seeking pain relief.” 

12. “A decade into the crisis, more and more prescription drug users turned to the black market. Even though the D.E.A. had tried to “eradicate” illicit drugs for nearly 50 years, users could easily buy stolen and counterfeit pills, along with a cheaper option, heroin.”(ii.)

THE CONGRESS MUST REFORM OR DISBAND THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)

Today hundreds of medical practitioners sit in prison, their lives destroyed, property seized and stolen, families disrupted, due to of 40 years of the incompetence of this single heinous agency.  The September 17, 2018 article concludes:

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THESE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OF THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)”

According to Professor Leo Beletsky and Jeremiah Goulka,

“ We ought to reinvent the Drug Enforcement Administration. Considering its lack of public health and health care orientation, the agency’s regulatory authority over the pharmaceutical supply could be transferred to a strengthened and independent Food and Drug Administration, while the regulation of medical and pharmacy practice can be ceded to the states.” 

CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA)”

We have seen the culture of song and dance. Its power is always captured within a movement, while having traveled the passage from Barbados, Panama, Cuba Haiti, United States, Brazil, South Africa:(see video)

CHOP THEM UP

According to Professor Leo Beletsky and Jeremiah Goulka,

“Parts of the D.E.A.’s law enforcement mandate should be transferred to the F.B.I., delegated back to the local or state, or eliminated. A significant portion of the D.E.A.’s budget should be reinvested in lifesaving measures like access to high-quality treatment.” AND WE CONCUR

AND WE CONCUR

According to Professor Leo Beletsky and Jeremiah Goulka, and Norman J Clement, Jack Folson et al.

” It is more than clear Congress must take actions to reform or disband The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). We concur, DEA has had over 40 years to win the war on drugs. Instead its tactics have fueled the opioid crisis. To finally make a dent in this national emergency, we need to rethink the agency from the bottom up.”  

My soul is liberated, from the Anthem of the “Good Death” “Festiva De Boa Morte,” the Good Death of Slavery, Cachoeria, Brazil. “Da me liberdante”(see video)

Living in the Spirit of Sankofa

YOUWITHINTHENORMS.COM , (WYNTON MARSALIS CONCERTO FOR TRUMPET AND 2 OBOES, 1984)

For Now, You’re Within The Norms

i. http://youarewithinthenorms.com/2019/12/10/since-when-has-it-become-the-job-or-the-role-of-law-enforcement-dea-to-dictate-and-define-medical-procedures-and-protocols-a-reflection/

ii. Professor Beletsky is the faculty director of Northeastern University’s Health in Justice Action Lab, where Jeremiah Goulka is a senior fellow.reported in article https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/opinion/drugs-dea-defund-heroin.html 

iii. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/opions/drugs-dea-defund-heroin.html

iv. http://youarewithinthenorms.com/2020/01/15/black-pharmacist-fight-back-the-deas-red-flags-of-old-jim-crow/

v.,vi., vii., viii., Pain: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE, Editors 

Daphnee Lalonde, BSc, MSc. Radia Johnson, BSc, PhD, Miguel de la Garza, MD, DABA, DAPM, Kenneth Latta, BS Pharm, RPh, FIACP, FACA   

LP3 Network CE Coordinator Disclosure – Medisca Consultant 

Senior Associate, Gates Healthcare Associates 

Disclosure – Health System Consulting Group LLC Consultant; Gates Healthcare Associates Consultant; Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC); North Carolina Board of Pharmacy; Visante UK; Visante Inc.; and Medisca Consultant 

Ken Speidel, BS Pharm, PharmD, RPh, FIACP, FACA 

Senior Associate, Gates Healthcare Associates
Disclosure – Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) Surveyor; Gates Healthcare Associates Consultant; Medisca Consultant 

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