At the Behest of the Opioid Drug Industry, Congress Undermined the DEA

A joint investigation by The Washington Post and CBS’s “60 Minutes” recently revealed that in 2016 — in the midst of the deadly opioid overdose epidemic sweeping across the U.S. — Congress passed a dangerous bill that effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) of one of its strongest enforcement tools: the authority to immediately block the flow of prescription opioid painkillers from wholesale drug distributors to corrupt doctors and pharmacists who peddle these drugs to the black market.[1] The driving force behind this legislation was a multi-milliondollar lobbying campaign orchestrated by the opioid drug industry.

Wholesale drug distributors serve as intermediaries between the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture drugs and the pharmacies and clinics that dispense them to patients. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, drug companies — including wholesale distributors — must report to the DEA any unusually large or otherwise suspicious orders of opioids.[2] Such orders often indicate illegal diversion of opioids.

Companies that fail to comply with these reporting requirements are subject to fines and loss of their DEA licenses to manufacture or distribute opioids. In the most egregious cases, the DEA can order a company to immediately suspend all shipments of opioids on the grounds that the drugs constitute an “imminent danger” to the community.[3]

According to The Washington Post, the drug industry launched a multifaceted campaign to weaken the DEA’s aggressive enforcement actions against wholesale drug distributors.[4] An important part of this campaign involved pressuring key lawmakers to sponsor industry-friendly legislation that would make it nearly impossible for the DEA to issue immediate suspension orders. Industry-linked political action committees contributed at least $1.5 million to 23 members of Congress who sponsored or cosponsored various bills targeting the DEA’s authority. Industry also spent millions more lobbying Congress to pass such legislation.

The industry’s investment in Congress eventually paid off. With little fanfare, both chambers of Congress passed by unanimous consent a final bill sought by industry, and President Obama signed it into law on April 19, 2016.[5] The Washington Post reported that a “senior DEA official said the agency fought the bill for years in the face of growing pressure from key members of Congress and industry lobbyists. But the DEA lost the battle and eventually was forced to accept a deal it did not want.”[6]

The revelations by The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” sparked justified public outrage. Unless it wants to remain complicit in preventable deaths from opioids, Congress must quickly repeal the 2016 law and restore the DEA’s enforcement authority, thereby placing the interests of communities ravaged by the ongoing opioid overdose epidemic before those of the greedy drug industry.

References

[1] Higham S, Bernstein L. The drug industry’s triumph over the DEA. October 15, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/dea-drug-industry-congress/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.728d9a2c611c. Accessed October 16, 2017.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Congress.gov. S.483 - Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016. https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/483/actions. Accessed October 17, 2017.

[6] Higham S, Bernstein L. The drug industry’s triumph over the DEA. October 15, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/dea-drug-industry-congress/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.728d9a2c611c. Accessed October 16, 2017.