Gardner seeks improved distribution reporting on controlled substances

Bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) aims to improve American law enforcement’s reporting on the distribution of controlled substances, including opioids.

Sen. Gardner on Oct. 23 sponsored the Suspicious Order Identification Act of 2019, S. 2686, with bill cosponsor U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) to allow law enforcement to provide real-time, nationwide oversight of all orders for controlled substances, action it currently doesn’t have and which has become a major contributing factor to disproportionate prescription opioid shipments to certain pharmacies across the country, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Gardner’s office.

“This commonsense legislation will leverage data to ensure that we stop bad actors in real-time,” Sen. Gardner said. “I’m hopeful that my bipartisan measure with Senator Coons can help in our fight against this epidemic.”

If enacted, S. 2686 would protect the integrity of the supply chain by requiring the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to create a program for data sharing in real-time, thereby ensuring that the supply chain could stop a suspicious order before it gets filled, according to the summary.

“A few years ago, the DEA discovered a major drug company was shipping enough prescription opioids to the San Luis Valley for every man, woman and child to have 30 to 60 pills per month,” said Sen. Gardner. “The data shows that this is a common occurrence, and it’s time for Congress to do more to protect communities being devastated by undetected prescription drug diversion.”

The bill would require that the DEA convene a task force to recommend the most effective program to share data and prevent diversion in real-time, and to review the recommendations and implement a real-time solution within one year.

Additionally, S. 2686 would require an immediate transition to monthly reporting, according to the summary.