COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is joining attorneys general from 43 other states in asking Congress to give the Drug Enforcement Agency the power to investigate drug companies that produce opioids.
DeWine has signed a letter being sent to Congress, asking them to repeal a law they say has limited the DEA's ability to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable for contributing to the nation's opioid epidemic.
"In the midst of this worsening epidemic, we need laws that enable our enforcement community to hold the manufacturers and distributors accountable for the opioids they have knowingly poured into our communities," said Attorney General DeWine."I encourage our congressional leaders to repeal this Act."
In addition to preventing enforcement, the AGs contend in the letter that an allowance for drug makers to file a "corrective action plan" that must be reviewed before show cause proceedings limits enforcement efforts and puts the public at risk.