D.E.A. Let Opioid Production Surge as Crisis Grew, Justice Dept. Says
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/dea-opioid-crisis.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/dea-opioid-crisis.html
The Drug Enforcement Administration authorized large increases in the production of painkillers even as the number of opioid-related deaths in the United States soared, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a harsh review on Tuesday.
The watchdog office said that the D.E.A. was “slow to respond” to the opioid crisis, adding that more than 300,000 Americans have died of opioid overdoses since 2000.
“We found that the rate of opioid overdose deaths in the United States grew, on average, by 8 percent per year from 1999 through 2013 and by 71 percent per year from 2013 through 2017,” the review said. “Yet, from 2003 through 2013 D.E.A. was authorizing manufacturers to produce substantially larger amounts of opioids.”
The D.E.A., an arm of the Justice Department, is the federal agency that most directly oversees access to opioids.
“D.E.A. is responsible for regulating opioid production quotas and investigating its illegal diversion,” Michael E. Horowitz, the inspector general, said in a video on Tuesday. “We found that D.E.A. was slow to respond to this growing public health crisis and that its regulatory and enforcement efforts could have been more effective.”
For example, he said, the agency increased production quotas for oxycodone production by about 400 percent from 2002 to 2013, despite evidence that opioids were being overprescribed and misused.
The report said the D.E.A. did not capture enough timely data on opioid abuse or other drug trends. It also noted that the agency had “recently taken steps to address the opioid epidemic, but more work remains.”
A spokeswoman for the D.E.A. said in a statement that the agency “appreciates the O.I.G.’s assessment of the programs involved in the report and the opportunity to discuss improvements made to increase the regulatory and enforcement efforts to control the diversion of opioids.”
“The D.E.A. uses a wide variety of tools — administrative, civil and criminal — to fight the diversion of controlled substances,” she added. “While only a minute fraction of the more than 1.8 million manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies and prescribers registered with D.E.A. are involved in unlawful activity, D.E.A. continuously works to identify and root out the bad actors.”
The report noted that in 2013, there was a sharp decline in the D.E.A.’s issuance of immediate suspension orders, which it called the agency’s “strongest enforcement tool” because the orders can stop companies from distributing drugs.
The agency has attributed that decline to the end of two major operations in 2012, and it said in its statement on Tuesday that it had removed about 900 registrations, which are essentially licenses to handle controlled substances, every year for the past eight years.
Andrew Kolodny, a director of opioid policy research at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University who also testifies as an expert for government plaintiffs against pharmaceutical companies, said the review did not address the problems at the root of the opioid crisis — such as over-prescription of painkillers — because it was narrowly focused on the D.E.A.
“When you read the report, what you really don’t get out of it is that in almost every way in which the D.E.A. failed — except for the fact that they could have managed their data better — you have pharmaceutical industry and distributor industry influence,” he said.
The inspector general’s review comes at a critical moment in federal opioid litigation: A consolidation of nearly 2,300 cases from cities, counties and tribes nationwide seeking reparations for the epidemic.
The first trial, set to begin in Cleveland this month, pits two hard-hit Ohio counties against an array of drug manufacturers, distributors and retailers, which the plaintiffs blame for the crisis. But in laying substantial blame at the feet of the D.E.A., the inspector general has, in effect, given the drug industry defendants a powerful retort on the eve of trial.
Jan Hoffman contributed reporting.
some claim that a definition of SOCIALISM is when a bureaucracy CREATES a problem and then CREATE another/new/larger bureaucracy charged with dealing with the crisis that the bureaucracy created in the first place
Filed under: General Problems
Unbelievable obfuscation of the real problem. For crying out loud we’ve been in Afghanistan for years, who is the largest grower in the world of poppies used to manufacture opium derivatives. Did we do anything to control the distribution from that source? Since the nineties, every President has denounced the fluidity of our southern border, but did we do anything about it? Instead target Chronic Pain Sufferers and blame the pharmaceutical companies and Pain Management Physicians for “diversion” and “over-prescribing”. If it wasn’t so sad it would be a joke.
May I point out how troubling it is that the NYT (and/or contributor Jan Hoffman) continue to seek comment from disgraced and discredited propagandist Andrew Kolodny? It only gives him a national platform in which to spew misinformation such as, “problems at the root of the opioid crisis– such as over-prescription of painkillers.”
What a subtle way of perpetuating the narrative. People see a doctor (“an expert for government plaintiffs”) cited in the Times, and no one else was quoted who provided a countervailing view.
For all the kumbaya we send each other in forums such as these, it’s David vs Goliath out there, and we’re outmatched in terms of reach and influence.
Agree, disagree?
i sure agree with you. This insanity has about caused me to lose my mind…I’m an evidence-driven person, worked in research & science my whole life, & to have my & millions of others’ lives destroyed by venal extremist nutcase zealot liars has about driven me over the edge.
“Some say socialism is………
Who are some?
We all agree about the bureaucracies motivations. It’s common knowledge, except for the association with socialism.
You’ve allready confessed to the “right hung” side.
Don’t let it infect your otherwise class “A” website…
So opiates were ALWAYS bad?
SEE HERE how the proper increase in the treatment of pain BECOMES, TODAY, the DEA convicted and GUILTY for being “slow to respond to this growing public health crisis…”.
Well now the DEA knows what it feels like to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when you are surrounded by blood thirsty wolves.
The very last place anyone looks for facts about opiates (except us) is next to the medicines primary purpose – actual severe pain suffered by actual people.
Makes me think that the legal opiate manufacturers are no longer high bidder for the DEA favors since the DEA is done with their participation in the “opioid crisis”
“The inspector general’s review comes at a critical moment in federal opioid litigation: A consolidation of nearly 2,300 cases from cities, counties and tribes nationwide seeking reparations for the epidemic.”
omg, I’m gonna barf. or scream. or both. How bout the several million cases of people who are in Hell or dead from being denied pain treatment because of the propaganda campaign & lies??
Yep good point about socialism .. they also knew about the illicit fentanyl tainting counterfeit pills and heroin back in 2014 (a few years before ever making announcements about it). Awhile back I stumbled onto an article written in 2014 where the DEA spoke about illicit fentanyl. There’s no telling how many od deaths from illicit fentanyl was lumped in with the od from deaths that included prescriptions. IMO they kept the public from knowing about illicit fentanyl on our streets so they could continue taking the easy way out by making it look like deaths from prescriptions so they could continue to chase after doctors. We know it’s more lucrative and easier to raid doctors offices than it is to actually go after the cartels and big time dealers.
Hi Tracey, while there may very well be a 2014 report, I can confirm (because I saved it in my files) that the DEA published a very interesting and informative report in July 2016 called “Counterfeit Prescription Pills Containing Fentanyls: A Global Threat” (DEA Intelligence Brief, Unclassified, DEA-DCT-DIB-021-16). I’m sure you or other readers will be able to track it down if interested. Cheers, Steve.
Thanks so much for the info! I appreciate it 🙂