Margaret Temponeras v. United States

The Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. § 841, and its corresponding regulation at 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04 are hopelessly vague laws that criminalize perfectly reasonable behavior by medical doctors. The federal circuits have wild, differing interpretations of how to apply these vague laws and a circuit split is painfully obvious here. Unlike a standard medical practice, prescribing pain medication is an integral part of a pain management practice making the term “legitimate medical purpose” inherently vague. Prosecutors have arbitrarily applied these laws to secure criminal convictions even though doctors were prescribing lawful medications pursuant to the standards set forth by medical boards and pharmaceutical companies. This Court’s intervention is desperately needed here. The question presented is: 1. Whether 21 U.S.C. § 841 and 21 C.F.R. § 1306.04 are unconstitutionally vague whereas the term “legitimate medical purpose” does not provide fair notice of a standard upon which pain management medical practices can be held criminally liable.