United States v. Ilayayev, 05-CR-836
| Decision Date | 05 August 2011 |
| Docket Number | 10-CR-361,05-CR-836 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANDREW ILAYAYEV, Defendant. Violation of Supervised Release UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LIOR HANUKA, Defendant. Sentence |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Statement of Reasons Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2) for Violation of Supervised Release
Statement of Reasons Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c)(2) for Sentence
Table of Contents
These two sentences raise the profoundly troubling question of how to sentence young defendants whose addiction lead to violation of criminal drug laws. One of the defendants—Lior Hanuka—fell into addiction after a drug was prescribed lawfully, and with medical justification, for pain caused by injuries in an auto accident. The other—Andrew Ilayayev—used drugs for personal gratification and pleasure, with abuse turning into addiction.
For Hanuka, the drug was oxycodone, a powerful medication used to alleviate severe pain, to provide succor to those suffering physical distress as a result of disease or trauma. It is much abused. See, e.g., Theodore J. Cicero et al., Trends in Abuse of OxyContin and Other Opioid Analgesics in the Unites States: 2002-2004, 6 J. Pain 662 (2005).
For Ilayayev, the drugs are many, including ecstasy, PCP, Special K, cocaine, and heroin. These drugs are exclusively recreational, having no recognized medical purpose. They are much abused. See Nat'l Drug Intelligence Ctr., U.S. Dep't of Justice, National Drug Threat Assessment 2010, 32-35, 40-41 (2010) [hereinafter NDIC 2010 Report].
This memorandum and order concentrates on oxycodone because its use illustrates the need for cooperation between the medical and legal professions to avoid abuse and addiction. Abuse of recreational, non-prescription drugs like ecstasy, PCP, and Special K usually requires cooperation between the law and medicine after addiction and criminal conduct has resulted; cases related to those drugs and the need for curative treatment are usually dealt with in sentencing and violations of probation and supervised release; dangers of those drugs are well known to courts and hospitals.
Modern medicine has utilized pain relieving drugs and anesthesia with great benefit to mankind. Cf., e.g., David McCullough, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris 133 (2011)(describing the first operation performed in which ether was used as an anesthetic). Sometimes physicians' experiments in healing have gone awry as substances they utilized have been abused. Cf., e.g., Howard Markel, An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine 90, 97-98 (2011) (doctors Sigmund Freud and William Halsted used, and mistakenly concluded that cocaine is a useful psychotropic drug, but only the latter became addicted). Large numbers of new drugs developed and manufactured for non-medical purposes have been abused by those seeking pleasure, to their own severe detriment and that of society. Cf., e.g., Abby Goodnough & Katie Zezima, An Alarming New Stimulant, Sold Legally in Many States, N.Y. Times, July 17, 2011, at A1 (describing the rise of "bath salts" as a drug of abuse, with startling permanent adverse consequences on the mind).
Such substances as cocaine were widely used in this country in soft drinks, and morphine and its derivatives were available in over-the-counter medications. Markel, supra, at 58-59. With the passage of the Federal Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") in 1970, and earlier legislation, distribution of narcotics came under closer federal regulation. No longer could manufacturers of consumer products incorporate those drugs in their products and sell them freely in grocery stores and pharmacies throughout the nation. The criminal law as a method of control was enhanced. For narcotics with recognized medical uses, licensed physicians and pharmacists now stood as gatekeepers, acting as their sole authorized source.
The drug abused by Hanuka, oxycodone, is among controlled substances with a recognized medical use. Patients may obtain it legitimately only with a valid prescription from a properly-licensed physician filled through a licensed pharmacy.
The drugs abused by Ilayayev are also closely regulated under the CSA. In contrast to oxycodone, however, the medical community plays little or no role in controlling access to suchillegal drugs because they lack approved medical uses. Criminal law enforced by federal and state government acts as the primary means to control their distribution.
The circumstances of Hanuka's case emphasize the importance of cooperation between the medical community and law enforcement in controlling abuse of dangerous but useful substances such as narcotic painkillers. Physicians' and pharmacists' combined ethical and legal obligations in regard to distributing such pharmaceuticals can provide substantial protection against their abuse. Nevertheless, the physicians and pharmacists may themselves contribute to abuse, necessitating intervention by law enforcement. Although complicated, a working relationship between the medical community and law enforcement is essential to realizing the potential benefit that these substances hold for patients suffering from severe or chronic pain while avoiding their deleterious effects on society from rampant abuse and addiction.
No such relationship between law and medicine geared toward preventing abuse exists for the drugs involved in Ilayayev's case. Prevention is within the ambit of law enforcement, with less direct involvement from medical professionals. The medical profession usually becomes involved with law enforcement only at the abuse and treatment stages. This relationship is exemplified by the recent rise in specialized drug treatment courts such as special parts for treatment, like the STAR Court in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of...
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