The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has reversed an order that halted a Louisiana drug wholesaler’s opioid sales over allegations it failed to report suspiciously large orders by pharmacies, Reuters reports.
In an effort to battle the national opioid crisis, the DEA suspended Shreveport-based Morris & Dickson Co’s operations on May 2. Morris & Dickson immediately disputed the charge and a U.S. District Court Judge in Shreveport entered a temporary order that blocked the DEA from enforcing its suspension.
“This is a striking vindication for our family company,” Paul Dickson, president of Morris & Dickson, said in a statement posted on the company’s website after the ruling was made on Friday. “This proves what we’ve said all along—that DEA’s hasty action was unjustified. We have always taken our responsibility to prevent diversion seriously.”
A DEA probe found that pharmacies were allowed to purchase as much as six times their usual quantities of opioid-containing drugs from the Shreveport wholesaler. The May 2 order marked the first time during President Donald Trump’s administration that the DEA moved to immediately block narcotic sales by a distributor as the agency works to combat the opioid abuse crisis.
