The Drug Enforcement Administration improperly penalized a Louisiana pharmacy for dispensing controlled substances because it altered the interpretation of its own regulations, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday.
The agency deregistered Neumann’s Pharmacy LLC, under the Controlled Substances Act after it said the store was knowingly filling prescriptions for dangerous drug combinations—like opioids and benzodiazepines. But the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit concluded responsibility largely rests with the prescribing physician, not the pharmacist.
“The DEA unquestionably has broad authority to deregister pharmacies and substantial discretion to shape policy within statutory bounds,” Judge Don R. Willett wrote in an ...