DEA

Critics of a new law that makes it more difficult for the government to take action against drug companies say the measure could worsen the opioid crisis, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Congress is focusing on expanding treatment for opioid addiction instead of restricting access to painkillers in its efforts to address the opioid epidemic, The New York Times reports.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has given approval for a study that will evaluate the effectiveness of marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, according to The Denver Post.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said this week it will decide in the first half of 2016 whether marijuana should be reclassified under federal law. The agency gave no indication what its decision will be, according to The Huffington Post.

One billion fewer hydrocodone combination tablets were dispensed and 26.3 million fewer prescriptions were written after the Drug Enforcement Administration enacted tighter controls on prescribing these products, a new study finds.

Heroin is the top drug threat in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday. Availability of heroin is up across the country, as are abuses, overdoses and overdose deaths, NBC News reports.

Few pharmacies have set up programs to accept and destroy unwanted prescription drugs, despite a push by the Drug Enforcement Administration to encourage drug disposal programs, The New York Times reports.

A bill introduced this month by two U.S. representatives would prevent the Drug Enforcement Administration from using federal civil forfeiture funds to pay for its marijuana eradication program, according to Forbes.

Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration to create an investigative unit to go after sales of synthetic drugs. The unit should focus on websites that sell the drugs, and notify credit card companies and payment processors such as PayPal of the illegal activity, he said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has arrested 280 people in a four-state crackdown of illegal distribution of prescription pills, named “Operation Pilluted,” Reuters reports. The arrests took place in Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi.

President Obama has chosen former senior Federal Bureau of Investigation official Chuck Rosenberg to be the interim director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, The New York Times reports. Rosenberg replaces Michele Leonhart, who announced her retirement last month.

CVS Health Corp has agreed to pay $22 million to resolve a federal investigation into whether two of its pharmacies in Florida sold oxycodone pills that were not prescribed for legitimate medical purposes, Reuters reports.

Michele Leonhart, the administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, will step down next month, Attorney General Eric Holder announced Tuesday. The agency has been entangled in scandal, and Leonhart has differed with President Obama on drug policy, The New York Times reports.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a nationwide alert in response to a surge in overdose deaths from heroin laced with the narcotic drug fentanyl, the most potent opioid available for medical use.

A new Government Accountability Office report concludes the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has contributed to a shortage of prescription narcotics and stimulants. Controlled substances such as narcotics and stimulants are regulated by the DEA because of the potential for abuse and addiction.

A Drug Enforcement Administration program to track license plates, designed to combat drug trafficking, is being used for other purposes, The Wall Street Journal reports. The database is also being employed to search for vehicles associated with other crimes, including kidnappings and murders, according to the newspaper.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has added three new strains of synthetic marijuana to its list of banned substances.

From the DEA cracking down on a potent form of marijuana to fingernail drug testing, Join Together kept their readers on top of the news making an impact in their community, work and life.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is proposing to remove the opiate-based medication naloxegol from the federal drug schedule, according to The Hill. The drug is currently considered a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday it will allow unused narcotic painkillers such as OxyContin to be returned to pharmacies. Until now, pharmacies were not allowed to accept unused opioid painkillers.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has announced it will reclassify hydrocodone combination products such as Vicodin. Under the new rules, patients will be able to receive the drugs for only up to 90 days without receiving a new prescription, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Not all parts of the federal government agree on how to approach the issue of prescription painkiller abuse, according to the Associated Press.

Some Massachusetts physicians have resigned from marijuana companies after being told by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigators they must do so or be faced with relinquishing federal licenses to prescribe certain medications, The Boston Globe reports.

The latest National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day was the most successful yet, resulting in 780,158 pounds of prescription pills collected across the country on April 26.