By Pat Anson, PNN Editor

A second chronic pain patient has died as a result of the DEA’s suspension of a California doctor’s license to prescribe opioids and other controlled substances. 42-year Jessica Fujimaki died Saturday, December 10th at her home in Arizona, apparently due to complications caused by opioid withdrawal.

Jessica lived with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), arachnoiditis, stenosis and other chronic conditions that cause severe, intractable pain and left her bedridden. In the past year, she found relief through injections of the opioid hydromorphone every two hours, which allowed her to walk, have some quality of life, and take care of her husband and two children.   

That came crashing to an end in early November, when she learned from her pain specialist, Dr. David Bockoff, that his license to prescribe opioids and other controlled substances had been suspended by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“She was frightened, because she knew what was going to happen to her if she didn’t have that medication,” said Tad Fujimaki. “There’s no way she could live without it.”

The Fujimakis were unable to find another doctor in Arizona willing to treat Jessica, and her health steadily deteriorated as opioid withdrawal set in. In desperation, they made two trips to Mexico to purchase oral opioids there, but were uncertain of the quality of medications they received.

A last-minute prescription for injectable hydromorphone from an out-of-state doctor failed to stop her cascading health problems. Her exact cause of death has yet to be determined, pending an autopsy.

Had the treatment that Jessica received from Dr. Bockoff continued, Tad believes his wife would still be alive today. He blames the DEA for her death.   

“Absolutely. DEA, government, all of them. If they didn’t stop the medication, if Jessica was still getting medication from Dr. Bockoff, this would have never happened,” he told PNN.

Like many patients with EDS, Jessica wasn’t diagnosed with the genetic connective tissue disease until well into adulthood. In 2020, when the Fujimakis lived in Hawaii, she had an epidural steroid injection for leg pain that made her condition far worse. Seeking better treatment, the family moved to the mainland.

“The one mistake we made was to move to Arizona,” said Tad, explaining they could find no doctors to treat Jessica near their Phoenix home.  

“Because she was too complicated a patient. They knew they can’t prescribe hydromorphone,” he said. “If we knew the state of Arizona was an anti-opioid state, then we probably wouldn’t have moved from Hawaii to Arizona. We’d have picked a different state.”

Like many other “opioid refugees” on high doses, Jessica searched for doctors out-of-state, eventually finding Bockoff, who has practiced medicine for over 50 years in California without any record of disciplinary action or complaints.

“I have no comment. A very unfortunate tragedy,” Bockoff replied in an email when asked about Jessica’s death.  

Another Bockoff patient who lived with intractable pain ran out of medication and died one week after the license suspension. Danny Elliott and his wife Gretchen were so distraught over his inability to find another doctor and get opioid treatment that they committed suicide in their Georgia home.

‘Imminent Danger to Public Health’

Why the DEA suspended Bockoff’s license is still not entirely clear. DEA agents searched his office in September, 2021 and confiscated the medical records of 240 patients, which they later returned.

Although a DEA notice of the suspension – signed by DEA administrator Anne Milgram -- states that Bockoff posed “an imminent danger to the public health,” his license was not suspended until 14 months after the initial search, when he was accused of violating the Controlled Substances Act when treating five patients.

Those allegations primarily deal with improper record-keeping and prescribing high doses of opioids that could potentially be diverted or abused. But there is no indication that any harm was caused to the five patients while under Dr. Bockoff’s care, or that they sold or abused the opioids he prescribed.

While Bockoff appeals his suspension, 11 of his patients have hired a lawyer and tried – unsuccessfully so far -- to sign on as intervenors, so they could participate in DEA hearings on the case. One of them was Jessica Fujimaki.

“With the suspension of Dr. Bockoffs license, I am left without care again. It took over a year to find the protocol that work for me and allowed me to have some quality of life,” Jessica wrote in a statement to the DEA.

“I was very fortunate to find Dr. David Bockoff, who accepted me as his patient and has been able to treat me in accordance with the treatment protocol that works for me. This treatment protocol changed my life and gave me hope,” she wrote. “I am able to walk most days unless I am in a huge flare. Without Dr. Bockoff's care and prescribed medication, I would be bedbound, unable to walk, unable to function, and certainly unable to care for my children.”

A DEA Administrative Law Judge declined to let Jessica and the other patients participate in a pretrial conference on November 28, but has not officially rejected or approved their motion to intervene in future hearings. The patients are considering other legal avenues.

Whatever happens, it’s not likely to happen in time to prevent future tragedies. Under DEA rules, doctors have 30 days to appeal their license suspensions. Legal experts say the process can then take months or years to resolve – too long for patients like Jessica and Danny Elliott, who suffered needlessly and didn’t have time to wait.