Letter to Attorney General Holder and DEA Administrator Leonhart

Letter

United States Senator Charles E. Schumer, in a letter to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), raised concerns over the agency's failure to suspend the license of Aim Pharmacy in Baldwin after a pharmacist there was charged with helping to forge prescriptions for painkillers in June of last year. Despite the arrest of the pharmacist at Aim Pharmacy, the pharmacy was allowed to continue operating and dispensing narcotics. In his letter to U.S. Attorney General Holder and DEA Administrator Leonhart, Schumer raised concerns over the agency's decision not to exercise its authority to suspend its license when the pharmacy was originally implicated as a pill mill operation,

"The DEA must be aggressive in yanking the licenses of suspected pill mills, particularly when pharmacists employed in these operations are facing actual charges," said Schumer. "The war on prescription drugs requires an all hands on deck approach. It's imperative the DEA use every tool at its disposal -- unfortunately, in this case, it appears they did not."

In July 2010, pharmacist Lutful Chowdhury was arrested by the DEA for illegally providing prescription drugs to Kayla Gerdes, who while under the influence of pain killers struck and killed a Long Island resident, after having filled dozens of forged prescription from Chowdhury's pharmacy. Chowdhury was charged with over a dozen offenses at the time. Despite the charges, and despite the fact that the DEA had the authority to suspend the pharmacy's license, Chowdhury continued to dispense narcotics until his arrest on a second round of charges this week.

In his letter to Holder and Leonhart, Schumer pointed out that pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 824(d), the Attorney General may suspend the DEA-controlled substance registration for a pharmacy if there is an imminent danger to the public health or safety. Despite this fact, Mr. Chowdhury continued to dispense drugs following his initial arrest and the pharmacy's registration remained intact, even though he was already charged with knowingly providing prescription narcotics with forged prescriptions to a drug addict who caused a heinous death. In his letter, Schumer questioned the handling of this case and called on federal authorities to provide answers to the following questions:

1) Why was Lutful Chowdhury allowed to continue to fill prescriptions following his arrest?

2) Are there currently other instances around the country in which the DEA has allowed a pharmacy to continue to operate following a federal criminal indictment?

3) Under what circumstances is a pharmacy allowed to continue to fill prescriptions following a criminal indictment by the federal or state government?

Schumer has been working to rein in the growing prescription drug crisis, by comprehensively addressing the over-prescribing of highly addictive drugs, increasing penalties for those involved in the theft and distribution of prescription narcotics, and providing federal support for enhanced state-based prescription drug surveillance programs. Recently, Schumer called on the Food and Drug Administration to consider the implications of introducing new so-called "super-drugs" into the market that are many more times as powerful as pain killers on the market and are seeking FDA approval.

A copy of Schumer letter to the Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Agency can be found below:

Dear Attorney General Holder, and Administrator Leonhart:

I write to express my grave concern regarding the recent discovery that Lutful Chowdhury, a pharmacist in Baldwin, New York, was able to return to his pharmacy following his arrest by the Drug Enforcement Agency in June 2011.

As you may be aware, federal agents and local law enforcement first became suspicious of Mr. Chowdhury after one of his clients tragically killed Dr. Rebecca Twine-Wright. Mr. Chowdhury's pharmacy, Aim Pharmacy in Baldwin, New York, filled a forged oxycodone prescription for the driver of the car that ran over Dr. Twine-Wright. The DEA investigated his pharmacy and found that he had been helping patients forge prescriptions for Oxycodone. This investigation culminated with the arrest of Mr. Chowdhury on June 2nd, 2011.

Following his initial arrest, Mr. Chowdhury returned to Aim pharmacy and continued to fill prescriptions until he was again arrested this past Monday. In a press release, the DEA said Mr. Chowdhury allegedly distributed large quantities of oxycodone and fentanyl to customers using fraudulent prescriptions between May 2006 and September 2011. He also allegedly aided customers by telling them to use different names for their fraudulent prescriptions.

Therefore, I was disturbed to find out that, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 824(d), the Attorney General may suspend the DEA controlled substance registration for a pharmacy if there is an imminent danger to the public health or safety. In this instance, Mr. Chowdhury continued to disperse drugs following his initial arrest and the pharmacy kept its registration even though it was linked to a drug addict who caused a heinous death.

Based on this information, please answer the following questions.

1. Why was Lutful Chowdhury allowed to continue to fill prescriptions following his arrest?

2. Are there currently other instances around the country in which the DEA has allowed a pharmacy to continue to operate following a federal criminal indictment?

3. Under what circumstances is a pharmacy allowed to continue to fill prescriptions following a criminal indictment by the federal or state government?

I thank you for your attention to this important matter, and look forward to working with you to ensure criminal pharmacies are not allowed to continue to operate with impunity. The epidemic of prescription drug abuse affects communities across the country, and we must do everything to prevent easy access to addictive drugs.

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