Opioid Crisis Response Act Passed By Senate

Yesterday, the US Senate passed an opioid bill – The Opioid Crisis Response Act – that addresses illicit fentanyl trafficking via the mail system, drug diversion in opioid manufacturing quotas and aims to improve access to addiction treatment via telemedicine.

The ‘STOP Act’, drafted by Ohio Senator Rob Portman, addresses the illegal importation of illicit fentanyl via the international mail system by bolstering digital tracking data on 70% of international packages arriving in the US by the end of 2018 and 100% by 2020.

The Opioid Crisis Response Act also gives the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) more authority to reduce manufacturing quotas all for controlled substances, including opioids, when the DEA suspects diversion. Manufacturers will only be allowed to produce a specific volume of controlled substances in a given year under the quota system.

Finally, the bill allows the Department of Health and Human Services to draft regulations that would allow doctors to remotely prescribe medication-assisted treatments.

While there are key differences with the House and Senate versions of legislation addressing the opioid epidemic, Congress understands the need to swiftly address the opioid epidemic.