February 22, 2006 - Anderson Valley Advertiser (CA) The Investigation Of Dr. Denney (Our Tax Dollars At Work) By Fred Gardner

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"I feel invaded," said Philip A. Denney, MD, on Monday. "I feel violated and I'm trying to figure out what to do about it." He had just received from an anonymous concerned citizen documents revealing that two of the patients he examined last fall were actually taking part in an investigation of him. One was a federal agent -- Steve Decker of the Alcohol, Tobocco and Firearms Bureau -- and one was a Confidential Informant assigned by the Redding Police Department. The documents reveal involvement by DEA agents named DeFreece and Hale, FBI agents Modine and McQuillan (from "Operation Safe Streets," which is supposed to focus on violent crime), and Redding PD officers Miller and Wallace.

Denney, who has been licensed in California for almost 30 years and has never run afoul of the medical board, has a cannabis-oriented practice in partnership with Robert E. Sullivan, MD (whose record is equally impeccable) with offices in Sacramento and Orange County, as well as Redding. The infiltration of his examining room apparently stemmed from an investigation of a Redding dispensary called Dixon Herbs, run by a man named Ron Dixon. Ironically, Denney had some qualms about Dixon's operation --"they rarely called to confirm recommendations," he says, and on a few occasions Dixon hired a doctor named Rosenthal to conduct ad hoc clinics at the dispensary, which Denney considered "ethically problematic." Dixon Herbs folded in December after being raided by a task force involving the same law enforcement agencies that snooped on Denney.

Agent Decker visited Denney on the afternoon of November 9 pretending to be Steven P. Hoffmaster. According to an "investigative narrative" filed by RPD officer Miller, "The receptionist asked for Agent Decker's I.D. and medical records. Agent Decker said several years ago he had been to a hospital in Santa Clara but he did not know which one. The receptionist called several hospitals in the Santa Clara area. When she did not find any record of him visiting a hospital under the alias provided, she said that was no problem, that they would go ahead with the exam and she would continue to try to come up with the records.

"Agent Decker said he had a brief exam by Dr. Denney. Agent Decker told Dr. Denney his main complaint was pain in his neck. Decker had an old scar on his neck which he told the doctor was from a motorcycle accident, and that ever since the accident, he experiences daily pain. Decker said the doctor looked at the scar but did not touch or manipulate his neck in any way. After the exam, the doctor told him he was a good candidate for a medical marijuana recommendation. The doctor told Agent Decker that the recommendation was good for one year and would cost $100 to renew."

Denney says, " I examine patients in good faith and it bothers me to be treated this way. Is this not an end-run around the Conant decision [the injunction prohibiting federal agents from punishing doctors who discuss marijuana as a treatment option]? I was led to believe that if I did this appropriately and I followed the rules laid out in Conant that I would protected. And now I find out that I'm being surreptitiously investigated by federal agents. It has a very chilling effect, to put it mildly."

One of the documents sent to Denney refers to a DEA case number from a previous investigation of which he was also unaware. There has been federal involvement in the investigation and/or punishment of at least five other California doctors.

Denney fired off the following letter to Special Agent Decker, AKA Hoffmaster:

"I have recently learned that your visit to our office on November 9, 2005, was under an assumed name and with a forged California driver's license. Your visit, I learned, was part of a government surveillance operation in cooperation with the Redding Police Department.

"Despite signing a document stating that all the information you provided was true under penalty of perjury, you skillfully lied and falsified documents in order to obtain a medicinal cannabis recommendation.

"You were such a skillful liar, I can't help but wonder how you keep track of when you lie and when you tell the truth. It must be difficult.

"I'm also troubled by how much taxpayer money was spent on this operation and how you justify spending any of the taxpayers money investigating legal cannabis uers when methamphetamine abuse is such a scourge in our community. I would hate to think of any law enforcement officer as cowardly, but infiltrating a physician's office certainly seems less risky than pursuing violent criminals.

"Under these circumstances I must advise that your recommendation is invalid because it was obtained by fraud.

"If in the future you or any other law enforcement officer wishes to visit our office, you are welcome at any time. I would be pleased to discuss our procedures and policies regarding the legitimate use of cannabis as medicine. There is no need to be a liar.

"Sincerely, Philip A. Denney, MD"

Cannabinoid Blocker Blocked -- For Now

The Food and Drug Administration issued an "approvable letter" Feb. 16 for the drug Rimonabant, which Sanofi Aventis intends to sell in the U.S. as Acomplia. The FDA is requiring the company to conduct more trials before Acomplia can be marketed for weight loss. Sanofi's bid for approval of Acomplia as a smoking-cessation drug was turned down outright.

Acomplia works by blocking the body's cannabinoid receptor system. California doctors who are conversant with the beneficial effects of cannabis have warned vociferously that blocking the endocannabinoid system could have dangerous ramifications. Tod Mikuriya, MD, on behalf of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, sent the FDA a master list of all the conditions and symptoms reportedly alleviated by the herb itself. "It appears that our concerns were shared," he said upon learning of the Feb. 16 decision.

Sanofi has yet to release the content of the approvable letter, which could call for additional data requiring months or -- if new clinical trials are required -- years. Sanofi publicists had been telling financial analysts they expected a green light from the FDA this month leading to Acomplia on pharmacy shelves by June. That's not going to happen... The company, headquartered in France, is the world's third biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer.

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