Nick Oberheiden Criminal Defense Attorney Oberheiden PC Ketamine Investigations We are seeing more and more federal investigations related to the drug ketamine in the past few months. Some of this may be in reaction to high-profile celebrity deaths that appear to have been caused by ketamine overdoses, such as Friends actor Matthew Perry’s . Some of it may be in response to the role that healthcare providers played in the opioid epidemic, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people. Regardless, law enforcement personnel from numerous agencies, but particularly the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) , have amped up their scrutiny into how this important drug is used and abused in the healthcare system.

While the agency’s goal is to protect the public, doctors, hospitals, and veterinarians who use the drug in their line of work can find federal regulators looking over their shoulders. If an investigation uncovers signs of misconduct or drug diversion, it can spawn an administrative, civil, or even potentially a criminal case that carries severe sanctions and even the possibility of prison time.

Here are answers to five questions that Dr. Nick Oberheiden, founding partner of the national law firm Oberheiden P.C. and a leading healthcare defense attorney at the firm, often gets from clients who are concerned about a ketamine investigation or who are actively facing one. 1. Who is Most at Risk of a Ketamine Investigation?

Any healthcare professional or organization that handles ketamine in the course of their business can be the target of an investigation related to the drug. However, two types of healthcare professionals that are overrepresented in the host of targets for ketamine investigations seem to be veterinarians and psychologists.

Veterinarians are targeted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies for their ketamine use because it is more common to use ketamine to anesthetize animals for surgery than it is for humans. Simply put, veterinarians are the ones using the ketamine to provide healthcare services. This makes them more likely to get investigated for their ketamine uses and procedures than others.

However, psychologists are increasingly getting targeted for ketamine investigations […]

5 Questions About Ketamine Investigations Answered