In determining the amount of civil penalties to be imposed under 21 USC § 842, courts have considered the following four factors:(1) the willfulness of the violations;(2) the defendant's profits from the violations;(3) the harm to the public; and (4) the financial capacity of the defendant to pay a penalty.

—the Government obtained an injunction against a pharmacist who failed to comply with provisions of the CSA 84 In that case, the court noted that the practical purpose of § 882 was to prevent businesses that engage in unlawful practices from illegally profiting from lax distribution procedures.

The Federal Government has only invoked § 882 in three reported decisions, including Oakland Cannabis

—the defendant pharmacist failed to maintain distribution records for prescription drugs and filled incomplete, photocopied, and forged prescriptions for his own profit.

The Court has located only five published opinions in which the federal government sought relief based on the statute.

Because Wasanyi, as a licensed pharmacist in charge of CP and CPCT, repeatedly filled prescriptions for controlled substances that were not valid, Wasanyi is liable for violations of § 842 (a)(1).

—issuing injunction to prepare records and inventory of controlled substances and to desist from filing illegal prescriptions

—before granting the Government's motion for partial summary judgment, "the Court held a hearing on the penalty to be

Indeed, courts around the country have consistently held that pharmacists may be held liable for violations of 21 USC § 842.

Even in those two cases, the defendants were at least given a hearing where they could challenge the Government's evidence and present their own.

[BOOK] The Medical Record as Evidence

[PDF] In the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit