Friday, October 2, 2015
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
Before we begin today’s program, I want to take a moment to
address the devastating events that occurred yesterday at Umpqua Community
College in Oregon. Like you, I was
shocked and appalled by this monstrous and tragic attack. Although we are still gathering information,
the Department of Justice is already on the ground assisting local law
enforcement and we will continue to do everything we can to support the Douglas
County community going forward. My heart
goes out to all those affected by this heinous crime and I know that the entire
Justice Department family – and all of us here today – will keep the victims
and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you, U.S. Attorney [Carmen] Ortiz, for those kind words
– and for your outstanding service to the people of Massachusetts over the
course of this administration. I’d also
like to recognize Attorney General [Maura] Healey and Commissioner [Monica]
Bharel for the bold steps they have taken – beginning the moment they took
office this year – to clamp down on opioid trafficking and abuse throughout
Massachusetts. And I’d like to thank Dr.
[Dennis] Dimitri and the entire Massachusetts Medical Society for advancing
public health and public safety; for bringing attention and expertise to the
critical issue we’re discussing today; and for hosting this vitally important
summit that recognizes the critical public health issues in what far too many,
for far too long, have seen only as a law enforcement issue. It’s a pleasure to be in Waltham this morning
and a privilege to join such a distinguished group of public servants and
health experts as we explore new strategies for curbing drug abuse and building
stronger, safer communities.
It is particularly appropriate that this morning’s gathering
is taking place at the Massachusetts Medical Society. As the oldest continually operating state
medical organization in the United States, the Massachusetts Medical Society
has set the standard for its peers for well over two centuries. You have attracted and united more than
25,000 physicians and medical students behind your essential mission of
“promot[ing] … the health, benefit and welfare of the citizens of the
Commonwealth.” And you have built a
striking record of success in educating and advocating for Massachusetts’s
medical professionals and the patients for whom they care. I applaud you for leading a truly
comprehensive campaign to reduce prescription drug abuse in the Commonwealth –
and I want you to know that the Department of Justice and the entire Obama
Administration, is standing with you in this fight. Through the tireless efforts of our Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) – under the leadership of Acting Administrator
[Chuck] Rosenberg – we are making major strides on all four of the action areas
identified in the White House Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan, which
President Obama discussed in his weekly address just a few days ago:
enforcement, disposal, monitoring and education.
On the enforcement front, we are using every civil, criminal
and administrative tool we have to discover, disrupt and dismantle illegal
traffic in pharmaceutical controlled substances – and we are making real and
significant progress. We have targeted
the illegal supply chain, thwarted doctor-shopping attempts and disrupted
so-called “pill mills” – just a few days ago, we won a conviction in a 49-count
case against a former heart surgeon in Georgia who aggressively prescribed
controlled narcotics to patients who were addicted to them and who, at one
point, received more Oxycodone pills than any other doctor in the state. Further highlighting the often heartbreaking
costs of addiction, the doctor was himself addicted to painkillers. We have
ramped up our focus on individuals and organizations who use the Internet to
buy and sell controlled substances and we have seen a marked reduction in
online trafficking as a result. And we
are building cooperation and seamless communication between agencies tasked
with combating this challenge by integrating DEA agents and investigators with
other federal, state and local law enforcement officers in 66 Tactical
Diversion Squads stationed across 41 states, Puerto Rico and the District of
Columbia – with three more on the way.
Just this past May, our collaborative approach enabled us to execute the
largest pharmaceutical-related takedown in the DEA’s history – a takedown of
pill mills as well as medical professionals who were illegally diverting
prescription painkillers; diverting them away from real patients and into the
hands of street sellers. This operation spanned four states, involved nearly a
thousand law enforcement officers and resulted in 280 arrests – including 22
doctors and pharmacists.
We also know, as you do, that opioid addiction often begins
not with a law-breaking doctor, but with a family medicine cabinet. That’s why we are working to ensure that
unused, unwanted and expired medications are responsibly discarded and taken
out of circulation. In the last five
years, the DEA has held ten National Take Back Days – most recently this past
Saturday – when the public is encouraged to bring excess prescription drugs to
thousands of designated sites across the country for safe and secure disposal. In only the last nine Take Back Days, the DEA
– in conjunction with state, local and tribal law enforcement partners –
collected nearly 5 million pounds of medication – that is, 2,400 tons of
medication that is no longer circulating through our communities. And last year, the DEA introduced several new
ways to dispose of old or unused prescription drugs – including many more
authorized drop-off sites, as well as pre-paid return-mail packages – that will
make this program even more efficient and even more effective.
Still, aggressive enforcement and conscientious disposal are
just part of the picture. We are also
continuing to support Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs at the state level,
because we recognize that rigorous monitoring is one of the best ways to detect
and prevent the diversion of pharmaceuticals.
Forty-nine states and Guam currently have monitoring programs in place,
while Washington, D.C., has authorized one and we look forward to working with
every jurisdiction going forward – in part through the Harold Rogers Prescription
Drug Monitoring grant program – to make those programs more robust and more
effective. At the same time, we have
amplified our education and outreach efforts to help inform professional
associations, industry organizations and law enforcement agencies at all levels
about the latest developments, programs and policies affecting opioid
trafficking and addiction. In FY 2014
alone, the DEA conducted 150 such events, building on 114 the year before. And in addition to monitoring, we are working
to expand medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorders and placing
additional focus on treatment for incarcerated individuals who have experienced
issues with addiction to help ensure that they can return to their communities
as productive members of society.
This work has taken on a special importance, because as we
have learned from scientific studies, treatment providers, victims and
investigations, prescription drug abuse is a common precursor to the abuse of
heroin – an incredibly dangerous drug that has also experienced increased use
in recent years. That’s why, since
April, a multi-agency Heroin Task Force has been meeting to design a
comprehensive plan – which will be delivered to Congress by year’s end – to
counter the spread of heroin nationwide.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice/Organized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Force has allocated additional funding to help address the surge of heroin
overdoses in the New England region, including here in eastern Massachusetts. And the DEA recently led several major
actions against drug cartels and heroin traffickers, while raising awareness
about the growing presence of fentanyl in heroin sold on the streets, which
substantially and tragically increases the risk of overdose.
Of course, we won’t be there to stop every person from
abusing heroin or prescription painkillers – but those of us in law enforcement
can take steps to ensure that we are prepared to respond when we do encounter
heroin- or prescription-drug-related emergencies in the field. That’s why my predecessor, Attorney General
Eric Holder, urged local law enforcement authorities to carry the drug naloxone
– which can help restore breathing after an overdose – as a standard tool on
their beats. He followed up by issuing a
memorandum last July directing federal law enforcement agencies – including the
DEA, the ATF, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service – to assess whether their
agents should be trained and equipped to recognize and respond to opioid
overdoses, in part by carrying naloxone.
And since that time, our Bureau of Justice Assistance has provided a Law
Enforcement Naloxone Toolkit, which serves as an information clearinghouse to
help law enforcement agencies establish their own naloxone programs. This is an area in which Massachusetts has
been a groundbreaking leader and I want to recognize all of you in this room
for your work on this issue. You have saved lives.
Through all of these efforts, we at the Department of
Justice are fighting diligently, creatively and collaboratively – with the
partnership of individuals like all of you, each and every day – to ensure that
our communities have the assistance, the resources and the guidance they need
to bring wrongdoers to justice and to end this deadly crisis once and for all. Although our ongoing work will not be easy,
it is clear from what we have already accomplished that we have reason for
optimism. If we are able to harness the
expertise, the passion and the conviction assembled in this room today, I have
no doubt that we can preserve opportunity, strengthen families and save
lives. After all, today’s summit is not
only about reversing the spread of opioids – it’s about mending the basic
fabric of our communities. It's about
providing real help, with true compassion and without judgment, to those in the
grips of an addiction that has coiled around their spirit and their soul. It’s
about making real and lasting progress on behalf of those in desperate
need. And it’s about confronting a deep
and persistent challenge in order to chart a new course for our future and for
the future of our country.
That is what the women and men in this room have always
done. It is what our nation has always
done. And it is what the Department of
Justice, with your invaluable partnership, will continue to do. As we gather here today – with so many
individuals and organizations committed to this cause – I am hopeful for all
that the future holds. I am thankful for
your inspiring leadership. And I am
confident that, by continuing our partnership and staying true to our guiding
ideals, we will succeed – together – in creating the stronger, safer, healthier
communities that our children – that all Americans – deserve
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment