Glad to hear:
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) urged President Donald Trump to pick a different nominee for the so-called “Drug Czar” position after a Washington Post and “60 Minutes” investigation revealed that the current nominee, Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA), was behind legislation that significantly constrained the DEA’s ability to freeze shipments of drugs such as opioids.
“I urge you to withdraw the nomination of Congressman Tom Marino to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),” Manchin wrote to Trump Monday, adding that the new report “calls into question Congressman Marino’s ability to fill this critical role in a manner that will serve the American people and end the [opioid abuse] epidemic.”
“Congressman Marino no longer has my trust or that of the public that he will aggressively pursue the fight against opioid abuse,” he wrote.
Here’s more info:
In April 2016, at the height of the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history, Congress effectively stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of its most potent weapon against large drug companies suspected of spilling prescription narcotics onto the nation’s streets.
By then, the opioid war had claimed 200,000 lives, more than three times the number of U.S. military deaths in the Vietnam War. Overdose deaths continue to rise. There is no end in sight.
A handful of members of Congress, allied with the nation’s major drug distributors, prevailed upon the DEA and the Justice Department to agree to a more industry-friendly law, undermining efforts to stanch the flow of pain pills, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and “60 Minutes.” The DEA had opposed the effort for years.
The law was the crowning achievement of a multifaceted campaign by the drug industry to weaken aggressive DEA enforcement efforts against drug distribution companies that were supplying corrupt doctors and pharmacists who peddled narcotics to the black market. The industry worked behind the scenes with lobbyists and key members of Congress, pouring more than a million dollars into their election campaigns.
The chief advocate of the law that hobbled the DEA was Rep. Tom Marino, a Pennsylvania Republican who is now President Trump’s nominee to become the nation’s next drug czar. Marino spent years trying to move the law through Congress. It passed after Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) negotiated a final version with the DEA.
Again, Manchin is not my favorite Democrat but I thank him for leading on this. Click here to urge your Senator to tell Trump to pick another Drug Czar.