Washington, DC - Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo for the Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration directing the DEA to evaluate and consider whether or not to amend its regulations governing the aggregate production quota where appropriate as expeditiously as practicable, including through a potential interim final rule. This is in response to studies indicating that the United States is an outlier in the number of opioid prescriptions issued each year.

In making the announcement, Attorney General Sessions said: “Our nation is in the grips of the deadliest drug epidemic in our history.  In accordance with President Donald J. Trump’s declaration of a Public Health Emergency and his directive to his Administration to address drug addiction and opioid abuse, the Department of Justice has helped lead the fight against this devastating crisis.  I appreciate the efforts of the great men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), who are making significant strides in combatting this threat.”