Colorado U.S. Attorney's Office Files Court Action To Enforce Subpoenas Issued To State Program In Investigations of Colorado Pharmacies

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced today that it has filed a petition in federal court to enforce subpoenas that were issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration in its ongoing investigations of two Colorado pharmacies that dispense opioids and other controlled substances. 

The DEA issued the subpoenas to obtain information that the pharmacies had reported to Colorado’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (“PDMP”).  As explained in the petition, the DEA was informed by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office that the information those pharmacies had reported to the PDMP would not be disclosed to the DEA.  The petition filed today requests a court order directing three respondents—the Colorado Board of Pharmacy; Patty Salazar, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; and Appriss, Inc., a corporation headquartered in Kentucky that maintains information reported to Colorado’s PDMP—to produce the information sought by the DEA subpoenas. 

“We are taking this action as part of our office’s efforts to aggressively pursue law enforcement investigations of anyone who may be breaking the law and contributing to Colorado’s epidemic of prescription drug abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn.  “The DEA is fighting that epidemic with us and needs the information it subpoenaed to advance its investigations of two pharmacies.  That information will reveal important details that will help us to evaluate whether the pharmacies have been following the law when they dispense controlled substances.  We recognize that this information is sensitive, but, just as the state does, we respect that sensitivity and will protect the confidentiality of that information from public disclosure.  We are disappointed with the refusal to comply with these lawful subpoenas, a refusal that has forced us to seek aid from the court in getting the information we need to carry out important law enforcement investigations aimed at combating the prescription drug abuse epidemic.” 

This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Traskos and David Moskowitz in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.