Drug Enforcement Administration officials delayed and blocked enforcement actions as the nationwide opioid epidemic raged on, reports The Washington Post.
Here are five things to know about the issue.
1. Ten years ago, the DEA kicked off a campaign to curb a rising opioid epidemic. The campaign, led by the agency's Office of Diversion Control, entailed targeting wholesale companies that distributed hundreds of millions of painkillers, according to the report. Investigators filed civil lawsuits against the distributors, issuing orders to immediately suspend the flow of drugs and generating significant fines, the report states.
2. However, former DEA and Department of Justice officials hired by drug companies urged for a less harsh approach, according to the article. Eventually, DEA officials started to delay and block enforcement actions, and the number of cases significantly decreased, according to on-the-record interviews with five former agency supervisors and internal records obtained by The Washington Post.
3. Civil case filings against distributors, manufacturers, pharmacies and physicians reached 131 in fiscal year 2011. In fiscal year 2013, DEA attorneys began requiring higher standards of proof to advance cases. In fiscal year 2014, the number of civil case filings dropped to 40, according to the report, which cited information from the DOJ.
4. DEA officials declined requests from The Washington Post to discuss the reasons behind the slowdown in the approval of enforcement cases. But the DEA did provide the publication with the following statement from acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg:
"We combat the opioid crisis in many ways: criminally, civilly, administratively and through robust demand reduction efforts."
"We implemented new case intake and training procedures for our administrative cases, increased the number of enforcement teams focused on criminal and civil investigations, restarted a successful drug take back program, and improved outreach to — and education efforts with — our registrant community.
"We have legacy stuff we need to fix, but we now have good folks in place and are moving in the right direction."
5. The DOJ, which oversees the DEA, also declined requests from The Washington Post to interview officials. But, like the DEA, the agency issued a statement saying that the drop in diversion cases reflects a shift from crackdowns on "ubiquitous pill mills" toward a "small group" of physicians, pharmacists and companies that continue unlawful behavior, according to the report.
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