Fewer physicians, pharmacies faced DEA investigations as opioid addictions grew
A Washington Post investigation said the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) dropped its aggressive efforts against pharmacies, physicians, distributors and manufacturers to curb opioid abuse, mostly thanks to pressure from drug companies.
The opioid fight had been led by the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control, which could file lawsuits and immediately suspend shipments of opioids. But between 2011 and 2014, it cut back on those actions, with civil case filings dropping from 131 to 40 and suspension orders plummeting from 65 to only nine.
What changed, according to former members of the agency, was the pressure from pharmaceutical lobbyists. The Post reported on one 2012 meeting between the U.S. deputy attorney general and the head of the diversion office, Joseph T. Rannazzisi.
“That meeting was to chastise me for going after the industry, and that’s all that meeting was about,” Rannazzisi said, who ran the diversion office for a decade before he was removed from his position and retired in 2015.
According to the Post, investigations against CVS and Cardinal Health, who then hired ex-DEA officials as lobbyists, may have been responsible for internal changes at the agency that made it harder to investigate drug companies.
For more on the investigation, click on the link below:
John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.