Why Is The DEA: Hounding This Doctor?

摘要

On a cold morning last april, in the shadow of Montana's Bear-tooth Mountain range, five agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (dea) walked into the office of Dr. Richard Nelson, a Billings neurologist. For six hours, they combed through his records, seizing 72 patient charts and confiscating his drug-dispensing permit The charge? None so far, but the assumption is that he is suspected of improperly prescribing narcotic drugs. Despite a distinguished professional record spanning more than four decades, Nelson has had to spend $20,000 on lawyers, fearing that the government will indict him if it turns out that one of his patients has misused his medicine. "My practice is sunk," says the 73-year-old physician, who specializes in chronic-pain treatment. "I can't even write a prescription for Tylenol 3 if someone has a migraine."