Portman, Grassley call for update on DEA efforts to tighten internal controls on controlled substance authorizations

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) recently led a bipartisan call for an update on DEA efforts to monitor the eligibility of those authorized to handle controlled substances.

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recently cited deficiencies with internal DEA controls that grant authority for individuals to handle controlled substances and monitor ongoing eligibility. Portman and Grassley requested an update on efforts to address the deficiencies in a letter to acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg that was signed by a bipartisan group of seven senators.

The letter noted that the nation is the midst of an opioid addiction epidemic, with the number of deaths attributed to painkillers exceeding 30,000 in 2014, according to the CDC.

“The direct correlation between the abuse of prescription opioids and heroin is also a growing concern,” the senators wrote. “The CDC reports that ‘among new heroin users, approximately three out of four report abusing prescription opioids prior to using heroin.’ The DEA’s ability to screen and monitor individuals and businesses licensed to manufacture, handle, and distribute controlled substances is critical to address this epidemic by ensuring that ineligible individuals do not have access to these substances.”

The GAO report, resulting from a three-year review of the DEA’s controlled substances database and internal controls, found that “limitations in DEA’s controls to help ensure that individual registrants are eligible and remain eligible (to handle controlled substances) and do not present issues that may increase the risk of illicit diversion.”