DEA

The 27th annual “Red Ribbon Week,” October 23-31, will raise awareness about drug prevention around the country. Families can get involved this year by entering a contest to promote awareness in their neighborhoods, and win a drug prevention grant for their children’s school.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has collected a total of two million pounds of unused prescription medications during its five National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, the agency announced Thursday.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has revoked the licenses to dispense controlled substances for two CVS pharmacies in Florida, after accusing them of dispensing excessive amounts of oxycodone.

Nine former administrators of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, urging him to oppose three state measures on the ballot this November that would legalize recreational marijuana.

The number of marijuana plants that have been eradicated nationwide has dropped over the past three years, while the amount of bulk processed marijuana seized by authorities has doubled.

Prescription drug abuse is more than a public health epidemic – it’s a national tragedy, and a comprehensive national strategy for combating it is desperately needed, explains Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA).

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will meet this fall to discuss whether prescription painkillers containing hydrocodone should be more tightly regulated, Bloomberg reports.

Drug wholesale company Cardinal Health said Tuesday it will suspend shipments of controlled substances from a warehouse in Florida for two years, under an agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will create a 12-member investigative unit, based in Cleveland, which will focus on prescription drug cases. The unit will include agents from the DEA, FBI, and local law enforcement agencies.

Americans turned in 276 tons of unwanted or expired medications during the fourth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced.

Prescription drug abuse is perhaps our nation’s most significant drug problem, and trends over the past decade indicate this problem will only worsen, particularly among young adults and teens. While the DEA and law enforcement represent an important dimension in this fight, we are not the only ones, says DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.

The Drug Enforcement Administration crackdown on improper sales of prescription painkillers, which has been focused on CVS, has now spread to Walgreens, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that the Drug Enforcement Administration can suspend the sale of controlled substances at two Florida CVS pharmacies. The decision lifts a temporary order earlier this month that allowed the pharmacies to continue dispensing controlled medications.

An appeals court ruled Wednesday that CVS can continue to sell controlled drugs at two pharmacies in Florida. The ruling blocks an order by the Drug Enforcement Administration to suspend shipments of the drugs.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) acted appropriately in suspending the controlled-substances licenses of two CVS stores in Florida. The DEA charged the stores had failed to closely monitor sales of oxycodone.

The Drug Enforcement Administration announced this week it is extending its ban on synthetic drugs such as “Spice” and “K2,” which mimic the effects of marijuana, for another six months.

When the Drug Enforcement Administration recently charged a major health care company and four pharmacies with violating their licenses to sell controlled drugs, it marked the most aggressive efforts by the agency to combat prescription drug abuse, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Local and national authorities are playing catch-up with synthetic drug makers, who are constantly changing the chemical makeup of their products to avoid breaking the law.

An estimated 188.5 tons of unwanted or expired prescription medications were collected around the country on the third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day on October 29, the Drug Enforcement Administration announced.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has five commando-style squads that it has been using for the past several years to battle drug cartels in nations including Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, The New York Times reports.

Each day, nearly 2,500 teens use prescription drugs to get high for the first time. Karen H. Perry, Executive Director of NOPE Task Force, explains the importance of safeguarding your medicines at home.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and Food and Drug Administration continue to delay making a decision about whether to reclassify drugs containing the opioid hydrocodone, to make them more strictly regulated, ABC News reports. The government has been considering the move for 12 years.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Wednesday announced it is temporarily banning three synthetic stimulants that are sold as “bath salts.” The DEA said the action is necessary to protect the public from the imminent hazard posed by these dangerous chemicals.

While many states are being forced to pull back on methamphetamine lab cleanups because of federal funding cuts, Indiana has been able to buck the trend. The state has increased the number of meth labs it has found and destroyed by 33 percent in the first half of this year compared with 2008.

Federal regulators have been putting off the decision about whether to put tighter controls on the painkiller hydrocodone for many years, according to the Associated Press.