ABA Health Lawyer, “The DEA, ALJs, and the Trinity: A Closer Look at the DEA’s Crackdown on Trinity Cocktail Prescriptions,” by Abbye Alexander, Esq., Christopher Tellner, Esq. and Henry Norwood, Esq., 6-4-2025

Kaufman Dolowich’s Abbye Alexander, Christopher Tellner and Henry Norwood authored the insightful piece, “The DEA, ALJs, and the Trinity: A Closer Look at the DEA’s Crackdown on Trinity Cocktail Prescriptions,” in the ABA Health Lawyer, which addressed the federal government’s enhanced enforcement efforts to police trinity cocktail prescriptions. 

A trinity cocktail is a combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxer. Because of the strength of the three-pronged drug combination, trinity cocktails are prone to drug abuse and can be lethal, a red flag for pharmacists, notes the article. In response to the opioid crisis, the DEA has been cracking down on pharmacies, pharmacists, and prescribers by leveraging an old enforcement weapon: revocation of controlled substance registrations.

Readers can gain a keen understanding of the DEA’s increased scrutiny regarding trinity prescriptions, the revocation process, and the legal content surrounding DEA actions against pharmacies and prescribers in turn helping them to avoid DEA legal actions and address ongoing actions. 

The full article can be read here.