WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, along with Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Dianne Feinstein of California and Reps. Steve Stivers of Ohio and Katherine Clark of Massachusetts pressed the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to update outdated regulations on partial filling of Schedule II controlled substances. In a bipartisan letter sent to DEA Acting Administrator Uttam Dhillon, the lawmakers emphasized the importance of reducing the number of unused prescription pain medications in order to address the nation’s opioid crisis.
In 2016, an estimated 42,000 individuals in the United States died from opioid overdoses. Over 70 percent of people who misuse prescription painkillers got them from a friend, relative, or doctor. Section 702 of the 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) helps reduce the number of unused opioids in circulation by allowing “partial filling” of certain prescriptions, letting patients take home a portion of their opioid prescription and return to the pharmacy for the remainder of the same prescription if necessary. However, outdated DEA regulations currently only address “partial filling” in circumstances when a pharmacist does not have enough medication on hand to fill a full prescription. This definition poses a barrier to the complete implementation of the partial filling policies allowed under federal law.
“Section 702 of CARA will help reduce the number of opioids that could be misused in homes across the country. However, this can only be fully implemented once DEA takes the necessary steps to amend its outdated guidance,” the lawmakers wrote. “This discrepancy between federal law and DEA regulations has created confusion and concern on the part of prescribers and pharmacists that they may be violating DEA regulations if they partially fill a Schedule II prescription.”
The letter follows a similar request from the lawmakers in December 2017 in which they urged the DEA to issue updated regulations and guidance regarding partial filling of Schedule II controlled substances.
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