NFL Teams being investigated by DEA (re: Prescription pain killers)

[b0ng]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...45c84e-6da5-11e4-8808-afaa1e3a33ef_story.html

Federal drug agents conducted surprise inspections of National Football League team medical staffs on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into prescription drug abuse in the league. The inspections, which entailed bag searches and questioning of team doctors by Drug Enforcement Administration agents in cooperation with the Transportation Security Administration, were based on the suspicion that NFL teams dispense drugs illegally to keep players on the field in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.

The medical staffs were part of travel parties whose teams were playing at stadiums across the country. They included the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who played the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field, and the San Francisco 49ers, who played the New York Giants in New Jersey. DEA officials were expected to inspect six teams in all on Sunday.

The DEA had reason to look at those teams in particular, but the investigation is not restricted to them, according to the law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe is ongoing. The official said the investigation focuses on practices across the 32-team league, including possible distribution of drugs without prescriptions or labels, and the dispensing of drugs by trainers rather than physicians.

Federal law prohibits anyone but a physician or nurse practioner from distributing prescription drugs, and they must meet myriad regulations for acquiring, storing, labeling and transporting them. It is also illegal for a physican to distribute prescription drugs outside of his geographic area of practice. And it is illegal for trainers to dispense, or even handle, controlled substances in any way.

Agents began “interviewing NFL physicians in several locations,” Payne said, after reviewing material contained in the lawsuit. Players described being given unlabeled medications in hazardous combinations, teams filling out prescriptions in players’ names without their knowledge, trainers passing out pills in hotels or locker rooms, and medications handed out on team planes after games while alcohol was consumed.

“The DEA has a responsibility under the Controlled Substances Act to ensure that registrants who possess, prescribe and dispense control substances are following the law,” Payne said. He characterized the DEA actions on Sunday as “administrative” in nature, aimed at discerning whether NFL medical staffs adhere to federal regulations governing the dispensing of controlled substances across state lines. He would not speculate on any future action the DEA might take based on what it found. Penalties can range from suspension or revocation of licenses, civil fines or prosecution.

Not a good year for the NFL. More in the link.

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

The question was brought up why were the visiting teams, not the home teams, investigated. I believe that one of the main reasons, besides the possibility the training staff and or medical staff may be carrying these with them for players they would give these to before or during the games..........but the other main reason in my mind is because traveling across state lines, it would become a stronger federal issue.

Having participated in DEA investigations involving similar circumstances in the past, I guarantee that for these actions to have been taken, the Feds already have good evidence of wrong-doing (which eventually will be revealed). I also guarantee that there are already many other unrevealed investigations re. this subject ongoing.........with many more planned. The DEA does not waste time on chasing butterflies.

 

[b0ng]

What do you think about doctors being hired (and paid) by the NFL rather than specific teams? Puts the onus of medication abuse in the hands in the NFL and out of the hands of teams, maybe gives the NFL a reason to look more into stuff like this.

I know if you read Slow Getting Up or the Brett Favre book they do have a lot of stories about team docs giving out pain killers and amphetimines out to anybody who asks for them with some pretty wild prescriptions.

 

[Playoffs]

It is also illegal for a physican to distribute prescription drugs outside of his geographic area of practice...

So how does a team Dr. handle this... do they have to get licensed in every NFL state? How difficult is that?

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

So how does a team Dr. handle this... do they have to get licensed in every NFL state? How difficult is that?

This is not exactly correct.............If a physician has prescribed the player the medication in the state he is licensed, the bottle may be brought to another state to be taken by the player as needed. Otherwise, no patients could travel with their meds and take them in their out-of-state destination city. Physicians, though cannot inject medicines, even if they are legally in the possession of the player, in a state in which they are not licensed to practice medicine. However, technically, there is nothing stopping the patient from injecting himself with his legally obtained medication as long as they are not Schedule II controlled drugs (which essentially all narcotics are classified). Toradol is not a narcotic and is not a Scheduled drug. Therefore it could still be self-administered.

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

What do you think about doctors being hired (and paid) by the NFL rather than specific teams? Puts the onus of medication abuse in the hands in the NFL and out of the hands of teams, maybe gives the NFL a reason to look more into stuff like this.

I know if you read Slow Getting Up or the Brett Favre book they do have a lot of stories about team docs giving out pain killers and amphetimines out to anybody who asks for them with some pretty wild prescriptions.

To answer your NFL vs team control, my take is that I doubt that the NFL will ever agree to take primary responsibility for the meds because of the medico-legal federal liabilities they would have to incur in virtually any irregularities detected at the local levels.........too many things can go wrong relating to any individual team.......all of them ultimate landing right in the lap of the NFL and, most importantly (to the NFL), potentially scooping deeply into their their very "deep pockets."

A long time ago, a team physician could prescribe narcotics to a "pool" from which they could be freely distributed to players when desired. Now Physicians must assign every single narcotic prescription to a single player ("non-transferable"). Pharmacists are not allowed to dispense narcotic prescriptions without a specific patient name assigned to that prescription.

 

[b0ng]

To answer your NFL vs team control, my take is that I doubt that the NFL will ever agree to take primary responsibility for the meds because of the medico-legal federal liabilities they would have to incur in virtually any irregularities detected at the local levels.........too many things can go wrong relating to any individual team.......all of them ultimate landing right in the lap of the NFL and, most importantly (to the NFL), potentially scooping deeply into their their very "deep pockets."

A long time ago, a team physician could prescribe narcotics to a "pool" from which they could be freely distributed to players when desired. Now Physicians must assign every single narcotic prescription to a single player ("non-transferable"). Pharmacists are not allowed to dispense narcotic prescriptions without a specific patient name assigned to that prescription.

I agree that it's doubtful they would take over that, but from a health stand-point, wouldn't it be better if the NFL used their oversight when it came to prescribing narcotics to players so that teams don't end up getting investigated by the DEA for basically running pill mills in the locker room?

EDIT: Think of it like the NFL having Doctors on the payroll similar to how they have referee's on the payroll. Not interested in team specific dynamics, just the overall health of the players.

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

I agree that it's doubtful they would take over that, but from a health stand-point, wouldn't it be better if the NFL used their oversight when it came to prescribing narcotics to players so that teams don't end up getting investigated by the DEA for basically running pill mills in the locker room?

EDIT: Think of it like the NFL having Doctors on the payroll similar to how they have referee's on the payroll. Not interested in team specific dynamics, just the overall health of the players.

In a perfect world, it definitely would.....unless the NFL propogated the same team theme of "no matter what it takes, get those players (especially high profile players) back on the field ASAP..........we don't want to lose viewership........"

 

[eriadoc]

... which entailed bag searches and questioning of team doctors by Drug Enforcement Administration agents in cooperation with the Transportation Security Administration ...

I don't know how we ever managed to properly harass druggies in this country prior to 9/11.

 

[Playoffs]

...........If a physician has prescribed the player the medication in the state he is licensed, the bottle may be brought to another state to be taken by the player as needed...

So any team doctor who prescribes new medications during halftime of a road game is breaking the law unless he's licensed in that state? Or only if he injects new medications?

How do you get around the rules to legally administer meds on the road?

 

[ChampionTexan]

So any team doctor who prescribes new medications during halftime of a road game is breaking the law unless he's licensed in that state? Or only if he injects new medications?

How do you get around the rules to legally administer meds on the road?

Prescribe them everything in the world on Friday, and then pick and choose what you need on Sunday?

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

So any team doctor who prescribes new medications during halftime of a road game is breaking the law unless he's licensed in that state? Or only if he injects new medications?

How do you get around the rules to legally administer meds on the road?

Prescribe them everything in the world on Friday, and then pick and choose what you need on Sunday?

Have the prescription bottles of the meds prescribed for the player in Houston taken to the host city stadium and have the player instructed to take it as needed (as prescribed)............or have a locally-licensed physician (possibly the host team physician) prescribe and administer a needed medication, if appropriate. The player could self-administer his own prescribed Toradol.......although there better be no more than 5 days supply in the bottle. If the player needed an injection of let's say lidocaine or other prescription medication that logistically cannot be self-administered, the physician would again need to find a locally-licensed physician to perform the service.

 

[steelbtexan]

I don't know how we ever managed to properly harass druggies in this country prior to 9/11.

Repped

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

A great story re. drugs in the NFL, featuring the experience of several Texans players..........well worth reading this in depth piece in its entirety:

NFL's Changing Culture of Playing in Pain

By David Barron
November 21, 2014 Updated: November 21, 2014 3:08pm

For all the glamor and spectacle that surrounds the sport, the bottom line is that it hurts to play football. "Pain is part of the game," says former Oilers quarterback Dan Pastorini, who in the 1970s wore a Kevlar flak jacket to protect his aching ribs from onrushing linemen.

But as fans compile and calculate their fantasy teams, they expect exceptional performances today from their chosen favorites. And over the rigors of a five-month season, players do what they must to compete, excel and stay employed.
Texans

Dan Pastorini – The man Carl Mauck called “the fancy passin’ Dago,” was the Oilers’ starting quarterback in AFC Championship Games and, off the field, he was always an adventure waiting to happen.
NFL's changing culture of playing in pain
Arian Foster Houston Texans 2014 NFL photo This is a photo of Arian Foster of the Houston Texans NFL football team. This image reflects the Houston Texans active roster as of Monday, June 30, 2014. (AP Photo)
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Houston Texans inside linebacker Brian Cushing (56) celebrates a defensive stop with free safety Danieal Manning (38) during the first quarter of a pre-season NFL football game at Reliant Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2013, in Houston. ( Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle )
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"We've been doing it since high school," said N.D. Kalu, the former Texans defensive lineman who now hosts a local radio talk show. "You don't think you're doing anything extraordinary.

"I once broke my hand in two places during a game, and not finishing the game was not an option. My thought was 'give me a shot and wrap it up so I can go back in.' I wasn't trying to be a tough guy. I felt it was what I was supposed to do. It was a way of doing business."

The rewards are ample, as are the consequences. According to an attorney representing former players suing the NFL and alleging post-career health problems resulting from lax dispensation of prescription drugs, yellow and blue painkillers and pep pills have given way to a more sophisticated drug regimen designed to help those who followed in Pastorini's wake to keep accomplishing the extraordinary, even when it hurts to do so.

"Two yellows and a blue has evolved into the T-train, which is guys lined up to get shots of Toradol (an anti-inflammatory drug)," said Southern California attorney Mel Owens, who played for nine years for the Los Angeles Rams in the 1980s.

"You have two forces at work here. You have the culture of football, and you have the medication. I've always said that if you take drugs out of the NFL, you have a different product. To maintain your 53-man roster, you need medication to keep these players on the field, period."

Officials with the Bengals, Lions, Buccaneers, 49ers and Seahawks have acknowledged being contacted by the DEA after road games last Sunday. The Texans also were on the road last week, but no reports have surfaced to indicate their medical staff was contacted by the DEA.

The Texans declined to comment on the issue. Offensive lineman Chris Myers, the team's representative with the NFL Players Association, said player representatives were informed about the DEA visits, "but not in depth. It's not something we've had a conference call about."

Current players generally decline to discuss the notion of playing with pain, whether aided or not by prescription painkillers, particularly in the wake of the weekend DEA actions. One notable exception has been Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who suffered a sprained knee last Sunday and discussed the Cardinals' medical regimen in an interview with Westwood One Radio.

"We follow strict guidelines," said Fitzgerald, who said he was not given painkillers after his injury. "… If you have pain and you have something that is bothering you, you can go in and ask for (painkillers), and if they are able to get a script for it they are able to give it to you.

"Every single pill that is handed out is documented. They only give you a certain amount for whatever time you need it for, and it is for usually only a day or two. It's written down, and everything is taken notice of."

The DEA checks apparently were designed to ensure that teams comply with federal laws regulating controlled substances, which stipulate which medical professionals can dispense prescription drugs and set out regulations for record-keeping, labeling, storing and transporting drugs.

Fitzgerald's "strict guidelines" description concurs with the Texans' policies as described by former players Chester Pitts, an offensive lineman who spent eight of his nine NFL seasons in Houston, and defensive lineman Seth Payne, who spent five of 10 seasons in Houston.

"I had other guys talk about teams where things weren't so strict and if you were hurting the doctors would give you something," said Pitts, who is now involved in several businesses and contributes to a local TV station. "Here, (team physician Dr. Walter Lowe) was kind of stingy with drugs.

"I remember being in pain and wishing I could get something, but now I'm thankful they didn't. When you're playing a 17-, 20-, 24-week season, you'd have to take so much on a regular basis to get rid of the pain that it could be to your detriment.

"But the Texans were tight. They would give you Tylenol or ibuprofen but if you needed something beyond that, especially during the week, they'd say maybe we need to sit you down so you can recover. It was always a negotiation to get what you thought you needed, and they wanted to err on the side of safety."

Payne, who now hosts a radio talk show, said that during his career with the Jaguars and Texans, "It seemed like you had to fill things out in triplicate to get any kind of prescription painkillers."

"I always heard stories where they handed stuff out like a Pez dispenser, but I can't gauge what percentage of teams were like that. The doctors I dealt with were painfully careful."

Gary Hale, the former chief of intelligence for the DEA's Houston office and a fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, said the DEA's probable focus will be on the doctors dispensing medication, not the players.