Pubdate: Tue, 14 Nov 2017 Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH) Copyright: 2017 The Columbus Dispatch Contact: http://www.dispatch.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/93 Author: Jessica Wehrman DEWINE URGING CONGRESS TO RESTORE DEA'S POWER TO FIGHT OPIOID EPIDEMIC WASHINGTON -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine joined 43 other state attorneys general to ask Congress to repeal a law they argue has damaged the Drug Enforcement Agency's ability to crack down on drug manufacturers and distributors that have contributed to the nation's sweeping opioid epidemic. In a letter Tuesday to House and Senate leadership, the attorneys general argue that a bill passed by voice vote in 2016 made it more difficult for the DEA to take action against drug companies that were flooding communities with prescription painkillers. The 2016 law -- the subject of a joint investigation by 60 Minutes and the Washington Post -- made it harder for the DEA to freeze suspicious narcotic shipments. That's a tool the agency had used to crack down on flooding the market. The measure was described as an effort to ensure that patients who needed access to pain pills had that access. "We urge you to repeal the Act so that the public is protected and distributors may be held accountable for their actions," the group wrote. In a separate statement, DeWine said the nation needs laws "that enable our enforcement community to hold the manufacturers and distributors accountable for the opioids they have knowingly poured into our communities." In May, DeWine sued five of the nation's leading drug manufacturers on behalf of the state of Ohio. Both Ohio Sens. Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown, who along with all Ohioans in the House supported the bill via a voice vote, have voiced concerns about the measure. Both senators said no one raised concerns about it when it was pending in the Senate. Brown has since written a letter to the DEA and the Department of Health and Human Services inquiring about the law's impact and awaits a response. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt