US bid to repeal 2016 law seen as preventing aggressive DEA enforcement of opioid distributors

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said his nominee to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Representative Tom Marino (Republican, Pennsylvania.), has backed out of the position, two days after media reports revealed the congressman had pushed legislation gutting the US Drug Enforcement Administration's ability to target opioid distributors not abiding by regulations.

In the wake of this, US Senator Claire McCaskill, the top-ranking Democrat (Missouri) on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has introduced legislation repealing the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016 after media reports indicated that it had dramatically restricted the ability of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to crack down on opioid distributors suspected of wrongdoing.

“Media reports indicate that this law has significantly affected the government’s ability to crack down on opioid distributors that are failing to meet their obligations and endangering our communities,” Sen McCaskill said. “I'll be introducing legislation that repeals this law and continue my work investigating the role pharmaceutical distributors played in fueling this public health crisis.”