United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SAN DIEGO – OptumRx Inc., a prescription drug benefit provider, has agreed to pay $20 million to resolve allegations that it improperly filled certain opioid prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act. The settlement resolves an investigation initiated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) into whether, between April 2013...

SAN DIEGO – Palomar Health, a California public health care district located in San Diego County, has paid $250,000 to resolve allegations of diversion of fentanyl from one of its facilities and failure to keep accurate records for fentanyl. Palomar Health is California’s largest health care district, with campuses in...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration today issued a letter to e-commerce companies regarding the sale of pill presses. As regulated entities under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), e-commerce platforms are generally required to comply with CSA recordkeeping, identification, and reporting requirements on the distribution, importation, and exportation of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced today a settlement with pharmaceutical distributor Morris & Dickson Co., LLC for failing to maintain effective controls against diversion of controlled substances, including failure to report to DEA thousands of unusually large orders of oxycodone and hydrocodone. Morris & Dickson, which...

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has launched a new campaign encouraging the public to make Every Day Take Back Day by utilizing year-round collection sites to dispose of unneeded and unwanted medications. For more than a decade, DEA has worked with state and local law enforcement partners to...

WASHINGTON – The Drug Enforcement Administration will host public listening sessions to receive comments from healthcare practitioners, experts, advocates, patients, and other members of the public to inform DEA’s regulations on prescribing controlled substances via telemedicine. The listening sessions will be held in person and livestreamed with remote participation available...

SAN DIEGO - Dr. David J. Smith, a pain management physician, and his office manager, Julia Ann Oertle, are charged in a federal grand-jury indictment with perpetuating a long-running scheme to commit healthcare fraud and to manufacture and distribute adulterated fentanyl. Smith made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate...

WASHINGTON – With the unprecedented worldwide health emergency brought on by COVID-19, last year was filled with new challenges and increased risks. While much of the world focused on combating the pandemic, DEA continued to implement initiatives to combat violent drug traffickers who were intent on flooding cities and rural...

WASHINGTON – Omnicare Inc., a subsidiary of CVS Health and a leading provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities, has agreed to pay the United States a $15.3 million civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated federal law by allowing opioids and other controlled substances to be dispensed...