Clive Rohan Stack, a 54-year-old general practitioner from Hobart, was penalised for the inappropriate prescribing of controlled drugs. From 2020 to 2021, Stack wrote thousands of prescriptions for Schedule 8 medications. These prescriptions were written “for lab use,” and use of such drugs is strictly controlled under the law. His actions have attracted unprecedented scrutiny, leading to a conviction resulting in 34 charges under the Poisons Regulations 2018.
Stack also made a significant impact on the medical field in creating topical treatments that focused on improving patients’ pain. One of these was an experimental treatment involving ketamine, which he gave on an experimental basis to three patients. Beyond his individual work in this area, he helped form a larger program. This very innovative District program was instrumental in proving the effectiveness of this medication and achieved positive results in over 80 percent of those treated.
Prescription Irregularities
From 2020 to 2021, Stack was an active patient and filled several prescriptions at a local pharmacy. These prescriptions were for controlled substances and without legal authority. Stack has almost 30 years’ experience in the space. Yet, strangely, he has the gall to prosecute another doctor for failing to follow the legal requirements for prescribing Schedule 8 drugs.
“Dr Stack ignored requirements despite being an experienced practitioner of almost 30 years, requirements he should have and indicated he was well aware of,” stated Ms. Fox during the proceedings. He dispensed a million dollars’ worth of prescriptions he didn’t issue. To defraud the system, these fraudulent prescriptions were uniquely encoded to suggest they were for laboratory use and not legitimate medical use.
Local magistrate Chris Webster made no attempt to downplay the situation. He argued, Stack failed to ask the authorities for any instruction as to his activities. “He didn’t discuss with the authorities what he was doing,” Webster noted, highlighting a critical lapse in professional conduct.
Treatment Development and Efficacy
In 2015, while still actively practicing Stack developed a topical treatment to address patients’ pain. This advanced development featured a second ketamine-based formulation aimed at reducing addiction risks linked to traditional narcotic treatments. Mr. Cangelosi, speaking on behalf of Stack provided clarity in terms of the purpose of these changes.
“The purpose of what Dr Stack was doing was to devise a method of treating those people in a way that did not present risk of drug dependency,” Cangelosi stated. He further added that “the patient was receiving treatment with less of the addictive substance than they otherwise would get by way of a method of administration that essentially reduced the risk of misuse of the drug to nil.”
Stack’s program also performed a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of these treatments. The findings were helpful in demonstrating that most patients derived great value from them. “Most importantly, it was efficacious. The program that he ran was essentially a meta-analysis of how the medication fared … and it was effective in over 80 percent of the patients that were being treated,” Cangelosi concluded.
Legal Consequences
Following these discoveries, Clive Rohan Stack pleaded guilty to seven counts of illegally prescribing a controlled substance. He pled guilty to 27 counts of illegally issuing prescriptions for highly controlled substances without legitimate medical intent. In return, he was handed a $40,000 penalty.
Since these charges were brought against him, Stack has been unable to practice medicine, costing him his livelihood. Cangelosi emphasized the impact this has had on Stack’s life, stating, “Dr Stack has not practised since these charges arose. He’s essentially been without an income.”
