Author Archives: Gary Gerson
Medetomidine Withdrawals Add A Scary Twist To The Opioid Epidemic
Like the title character of Stephen King’s IT, the opioid epidemic maintains its fearsome nature by constantly changing shape. First there was morphine, then heroin, then prescription opioid pills like oxycodone, and then fentanyl, an opioid so strong that a tiny dose can kill. While there are other opioids in existence that are stronger… Read More »
Pittsburgh Nurse Practitioner Pleads Guilty To Healthcare Fraud And Drug Diversion
Healthcare is prohibitively expensive, and in general, doctors and nurses provide the best care they can and help patients access whatever services are available to them. Therefore, healthcare professionals often face criminal charges for the types of misconduct that, in other industries, would only result in civil penalties and loss of professional licenses. When… Read More »
The Return Of GHB: The Internet Revives Yet Another 90s Fad, This Time With Major Legal Consequences
Much to the chagrin of those who lived the most embarrassing moments of their adolescence in the final decade of the previous millennium, many fads from the 1990s are making a comeback. Movies and TV shows from the 90s are getting reimagined and rebooted, to the choker necklaces, ripped jeans, and tie dye shirts… Read More »
Five Philadelphia Men Arrested For Drug Trafficking After Investigation Links Their Drugs To Fatal Overdose
Brand identity matters as much in the black market for controlled substances as it does in legal businesses. People who sell drugs illegally are simultaneously trying to avoid detection by police and to make their drugs stand out among the drugs of their competitors. People who sell illegal drugs online can craft a brand… Read More »
When Is It A Crime To Copy The Dangerous Stunts You See On Social Media?
The reasons why social media is a bad influence are numerous, and many of them also apply to the media that captivated young people’s imaginations in earlier generations. The people on social media behave exponentially more rudely than we would wish for our children to behave in real life. Social media is noisy and… Read More »
Bethlehem Township Doctor Gets Prison Sentence For Illegally Prescribing Controlled Substances
Many of the scariest and most dangerous drugs are sometimes legal for medical use. Schedule I controlled substances, such as heroin, are not legal under any circumstances. Schedule II controlled substances, a category that includes fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, amphetamine (sold under the brand names Adderall and Dexedrine), and even cocaine, have accepted medical… Read More »
Delaware County Man Accused Of Stealing Bones From Mount Moriah Cemetery
Estate planning lawyers often warn their clients that, even if they do not own any property that anyone would want to inherit, they should still write a will, and in it they should indicate where they want to be buried. Probate courts have ruled on bitter disputes when one family member says that the… Read More »
Pennsylvania Man Charged With Wire Fraud For Alleged Role In PPP Loan Scheme
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal initiative designed to mitigate the disastrous economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, helped protect millions of workers in the United States from losing their jobs. In the months after the program rolled out, investigations began into fraudulent loan applications and instances of misuse of PPP loan funds. … Read More »
Domestic Violence Calls Do Not Always Lead To Criminal Charges
Everyone has someone with whom emotions run high. Most siblings who fight like cats and dogs as kids work out their differences once they grow up, but since you and your brother are roommates out of economic necessity, your tempers flare just like they did in your childhood. Your off again on again girlfriend… Read More »
The 7-OH Crisis In Pittsburgh Continues
A repeating pattern in the history of society’s favorite intoxicating substances is that proponents claim that a newly introduced substance is a safe alternative to another one that has long-standing popularity and well documented risks. For example, when coffee was introduced to Europe in the 16th century, it gained a reputation as a social… Read More »
