The DEA was effectively stripped of its ability to issue "Immediate Suspension Orders" which were its most effective tool to combat drug diversion by stopping d

The DEA was effectively stripped of its ability to issue "Immediate Suspension Orders" which were its most effective tool to combat drug diversion by stopping drug distributors with the passage of the "Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act" in 2016 [0]. This is actually a key point in the HBO documentary "The Crime of the Century." > In April 2016, Congress enacted the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016, or the “Marino Bill,” which created a new standard of proof necessary for DEA to issue an ISO. Pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 824(d)(2), in order to issue an ISO against a registrant, DEA must prove that the registrant’s conduct was an “imminent danger to the public health or safety” because the registrant failed to maintain effective controls against diversion, or to otherwise comply with the obligations of DEA registration, and there is a substantial likelihood of an immediate threat that death, serious bodily harm, or abuse of a controlled substance would occur unless there is an immediate suspension of the registration. [0] (This is from the 2019 DOJ OIG report). Separately, the same October 1, 2019 report from the DOJ OIG noted that the DEA was already decreasing use of ISOs (prior to the Marino Bill being passed), and authorized a 400% increase in oxycodone production from 2002 to 2013, and only reduced the production quota in 2017 [1]. [1]: https://oig.justice.gov/press/2019/2019-10-01.pdf https://oig.justice.gov/press/2019/2019-10-01.pdf [0]: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2019/e1905.pdf https://oig.justice.gov/reports/2019/e1905.pdf