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Attorney General Madigan Leads Coalition in Support of Stiffer Penalties for Irresponsible Drug Manufacturers

Opioids
Prescription and illegal opioids are commonly abused because they are so addictive (Source: CNN)
Chicago —(ENEWSPF)—May 22, 2018
By: Rosemary Piser

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan led a bipartisan coalition of 39 state and territory Attorneys General to call on congressional leaders to pass laws to help hold opioid manufacturers accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.

Madigan and the coalition sent a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Judiciary Committee, the committees with jurisdiction over this legislation, urging them to pass S.2456, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) 2.0 and S.2440, the Comprehensive Addiction Reform, Education, and Safety (CARES) Act.

In their letter, the Attorneys General state:

“Diversion of prescription opioids has devastated communities in our states. The consequences of turning a blind eye to suspicious opioid orders cannot merely be a cost of doing business.”

Opioid manufacturers have a duty to ensure they take steps to prevent drugs from entering the illicit market. Among other provisions, the proposed legislation would increase penalties on drug manufactures that fail to report suspicious transactions and maintain effective controls against diversion of their drugs to the illicit market. The bills would increase the civil penalty from $10,000 to $100,000 per violation for negligence in reporting suspicious activity and double the criminal penalty to $500,000 for companies that willfully disregard or knowingly fail to keep proper reporting systems or fail to report suspicious activity.

More information on CARA 2.0 and the CARES Act can be found on congress.gov.

Source: www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov

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