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New drug law makes it 'harder for us to do our jobs,' former DEA officials say [View all]
Source: Washington Post
New drug law makes it ‘harder for us to do our jobs,’ former DEA officials say
Legislation passed at the behest of drug companies undermines opioid investigations, and morale has plummeted, they say
By Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein
Dec. 15, 2017
A new law supported by opioid distributors and manufacturers is making it increasingly difficult to hold companies accountable when they run afoul of the nation’s drug laws, according to recently retired Drug Enforcement Administration investigators on the front lines of the war against opioids.
They join a chorus of voices calling for changes to the law that includes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, 44 state attorneys general and the head of the DEA office that regulates pharmaceuticals.
The field investigators said the new law is hurting efforts to halt suspicious shipments of prescription pain pills and slowing the agency’s investigative efforts. Morale within the ranks of the DEA’s field divisions has plummeted, they said in interviews with The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” for a joint investigation that will be published and broadcast Sunday.
“The law makes it much harder for us to do our jobs,” said James Rafalski, a DEA investigator who retired in June after a 39-year career in law enforcement, the last 13 years with the agency.
The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 was pushed through Congress by a small band of lawmakers backed by a powerful array of drug companies. The law has undermined the DEA’s most potent tools in the war against the opioid epidemic, according to agency investigators, agents, lawyers and the DEA’s chief administrative law judge.
-snip-
Legislation passed at the behest of drug companies undermines opioid investigations, and morale has plummeted, they say
By Scott Higham and Lenny Bernstein
Dec. 15, 2017
A new law supported by opioid distributors and manufacturers is making it increasingly difficult to hold companies accountable when they run afoul of the nation’s drug laws, according to recently retired Drug Enforcement Administration investigators on the front lines of the war against opioids.
They join a chorus of voices calling for changes to the law that includes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, 44 state attorneys general and the head of the DEA office that regulates pharmaceuticals.
The field investigators said the new law is hurting efforts to halt suspicious shipments of prescription pain pills and slowing the agency’s investigative efforts. Morale within the ranks of the DEA’s field divisions has plummeted, they said in interviews with The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” for a joint investigation that will be published and broadcast Sunday.
“The law makes it much harder for us to do our jobs,” said James Rafalski, a DEA investigator who retired in June after a 39-year career in law enforcement, the last 13 years with the agency.
The Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 was pushed through Congress by a small band of lawmakers backed by a powerful array of drug companies. The law has undermined the DEA’s most potent tools in the war against the opioid epidemic, according to agency investigators, agents, lawyers and the DEA’s chief administrative law judge.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/investigations/dea-law/
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