Opioid sales data overview:
- Who: The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration released data indicating opioid sales dropped by about half when compared to sales 10 years ago.
- Why: The DEA opioid data was released by an Ohio federal judge overseeing opioid multidistrict litigation.
- Where: The opioid multidistrict litigation is in Ohio federal court.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released data indicating that opioid shipments in 2019 fell by about half compared to shipments a decade earlier, Law360 reports.
The opioid sales data, compiled from the federal Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System, was released by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who is overseeing multidistrict litigation regarding opioid sales in Ohio federal court.
The opioid data collection system reportedly tracks the location where every opioid pill was manufactured and where it is ultimately distributed.
Four years ago, Judge Polster ordered the release of opioid sales data from 2006 to 2014 and recently ordered the release of data from 2015 to 2019.
About 16 billion opioid pills were reportedly distributed in 2010, while the number dropped to about 8.8 billion in 2019.
Opioid data significance to litigation ‘cannot be overstated,’ judge says
The opioid data’s significance to the multidistrict opioid litigation “cannot be overstated,” Judge Polster has said. To date, more than $55 billion in opioid settlements have already been reached.
Johnson & Johnson has already agreed to pay billions to escape the opioid litigation. Distributors including CVS Pharmacy, Walgreens and Cardinal Health are some of the other parties who have already reached settlements over their alleged role in the opioid crisis.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers note that the remaining defendants include smaller players such as regional pharmacies and distributors, smaller drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers.
“We will use new data to identify lapses in compliance and seek to hold offenders accountable,” said Joe Rice of Motley Rice LLC, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys.
The opioid crisis was killing about 50,000 Americans each year when the multidistrict litigation was launched in 2017, according to Law360. The COVID-19 pandemic seemed to exacerbate the crisis, bringing the count to nearly 80,000 deaths per year, according to the latest federal opioid data.
Prescription drugs had previously been responsible for most of the opioid-related deaths, but illegal fentanyl and heroin have been implicated in the majority of recent opioid deaths.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced narcan will be available without a prescription as part of an effort to increase the public’s ability to prevent opioid overdose deaths.
What do you think about the news that opioid sales dropped by nearly half over the last 10 years? Join the discussion in the comments.
The opioid sales multidistrict litigation is In re: National Prescription Opiate Litigation, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
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9 thoughts onOpioid sales fell by half from 2010-2019, DEA data shows
So basically. What i’m understanding here is that the government came in and oversaw the production of opiates. And then people can’t get their prescriptions now. So they go out on the street and get dangerously Unknown opioid that are killing people. So this data is useless it just sounds like somebody needs to keep their job. Because ultimately what it has done is made a situation that is unhelpful to regular people that need their prescription.
i was taking hydrocone since 2004 and my doctor garrison took me off it he did not wean me off he just stopped it all at once i was so sick and hurting all the time i will have to look at the date that he took me off i depended on the hydrocone all the time i took it about 10 years from a wreck i had in 2004 for my serve disk in my back
My pain management physician takes all measures to ensure proper dosages for individuals. He requires monthly appointments and a urine drug screen every three months. In addition to these measures for caution, he also requires you to bring the remainder of a prescription to his office before he starts a new medicine. I don’t know how much more can be monitored. He is definitely on top of his game.
20+ years of hydrocodone use. I weaned myself off of opiods with Medical Marijuana. The addiction is there even if it seems like you are not affected. My body was addicted. Mentally I was tougher than the drug’s hold when i decided to quit taking it. Thanks to the Good Lord that i was able to kick the habit. It’s so strange to say aloud that I was a prime example of the opioid addiction. I was a functional user. After all of the years of taking opiods I realized the medication was not taking away any pain.
Narcan should have already been in homes they want to sell make money instead of saving lives
It is only a problem with drug addicts or people that are prescribed and don’t know how to monitor their dose plus some get prescribed and sell it to make a profit. People who really need it get affected and doctors don’t want to prescribe because of those issues so others have to suffer the pain because careless people who want to party and make profits from addicts. They just need to monitor it better with their patients.
Add me
Please add me to the opioid settlements
I had no idea years ago this was so harmful