Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Justice Department Goes After Doctors, Foreign Nationals, Black Market In Latest Crackdown On Opioid Epidemic
The New York Times: Snaring Doctors And Drug Dealers, Justice Dept. Intensifies Opioid Fight
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced another crackdown on Wednesday on opioids, targeting doctors and drug dealers alike in cases that spanned physicians’ offices in Ohio, drugmakers in China and online black markets. ... His announcement came a week after President Trump asked Mr. Sessions during a cabinet meeting at the White House to sue companies that supplied opioids and to investigate opioid trafficking from China and Mexico, calling the flood of drugs from those countries “almost a form of warfare.” The president, who campaigned on targeting the opioid crisis, has also set a goal to reduce opioid prescriptions by one-third in three years. (Benner, 8/22)
The Associated Press: AG Jeff Sessions Addresses US Opioid Epidemic In Cleveland
Those actions included the country's first-ever civil injunction that has barred two Ohio doctors from prescribing drugs; the indictment of two Chinese nationals accused of shipping powerful synthetic opioids around the globe; and a recent operation to shut down the country's biggest "dark net" distributor of drugs. Sessions said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated there were 72,000 fatal drug overdoses in the country last year, adding that recent data show the number of deaths may be leveling off. (Gillispie, 8/22)
The Hill: Sessions Moves To Block Two Ohio Doctors From Prescribing Opioids
The Department of Justice is moving to block two Ohio doctors from writing prescriptions because it alleges they dispensed opioids without a legitimate medical purpose. ... The DOJ said the doctors had been served this week with temporary restraining orders preventing them from prescribing. “These injunctions – a temporary restraining order - will stop immediately these doctors from prescribing—without waiting for a criminal prosecution,” Sessions said. (Sullivan, 8/22)
The Washington Post: Justice Department Fights Opioid Abuse On Dark Web And In Doctors’ Offices
Federal prosecutors allege that Matthew and Holly Roberts of San Antonio were two of the biggest drug dealers on the dark web, completing nearly 3,000 verified transactions on various underground marketplaces between 2011 and 2018 — including the largest number of verified fentanyl transactions on the dark web. Prosecutors said they operated under the name “MH4Life.” They could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In addition to the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, which has caused the number of overdose deaths nationwide to skyrocket, authorities allege the couple possessed and distributed fentanyl analogues, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, Xanax and other drugs. They allegedly bought postage with cryptocurrency to conceal their intent and used glow bracelets and other items to hide that they were mailing drugs, authorities said. Customers used digital currency to buy the drugs and conceal the deals, prosecutors said. (Zezima, 8/22)
The Hill: DOJ Charges Chinese Nationals In Synthetic Opioid Conspiracy
The Justice Department has indicted two Chinese nationals for allegedly manufacturing and selling deadly drugs around the world that resulted in the deaths of two Americans. According to the indictment, Fujing Zheng, 35, and his father, Guanghua, 62, operated a global opioid and drug manufacturing conspiracy that involved shipping drugs to 25 countries and 37 states. (Hellmann, 8/22)
In other news on the national drug crisis —
Boston Globe: Rules To Control Opioid Prescribing Don’t Always Work As Intended, Studies Say
Faced with a soaring death toll from opioid-related overdoses, federal and state policymakers in recent years have enacted measures intended to keep doctors from prescribing too many opioid painkillers. But two studies published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Surgery suggest that such well-intentioned efforts sometimes don’t have the desired effect. (Freyer, 8/22)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: 'An Equal Opportunity Destroyer': Opioid Addiction Pushes New Orleans Treatment Centers To Capacity
The staff at the New Orleans Mission say the number of people addicted to opioids and in need of help is surging. The Mission is at maximum capacity nearly every night, filling the 232 beds at its New Orleans location, in addition to the 93 beds at its facilities in Lacombe and Hammond. The toll of the opioid crisis -- which resulted in the overdose deaths of 166 people in New Orleans last year -- is compounded by the limited resources the city has available to fight drug addiction. Now, New Orleans Mission and Bridge House/Grace House are joining a wave of treatment centers, local governments and others taking legal action against drug manufacturers. (Clark, 8/22)
