DEA Mandates Significant Cuts in Opioid Painkiller Production

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week announced it is requiring significant cuts in the production of prescription opioids, HealthDay reports. By 2017 the amount of prescription opioids permitted to be manufactured in the United States will decrease by at least 25 percent.

Hydrocodone production will be cut by 34 percent, the DEA said in a news release. The agency noted that the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health released last month found 6.5 million Americans over the age of 12 used controlled prescription medicines non-medically during the past month, second only to marijuana and more than past-month users of cocaine, heroin, and hallucinogens combined.