Congressional Report: Distributors, DEA Failed to Stop Opioid Flow to W.Va.

Big name drug distributors and the DEA failed to stem the tide of millions of opioid doses into West Virginia despite plenty of warning signs, a House and Energy Commerce Committee report has found.

The committee investigated how excessive shipments of opioids to small rural pharmacies in the southwestern area of the state were allowed to happen, and looked into the nation’s three largest wholesale drug distributors, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson. It also looked into two regional distributors, H.D. Smith and Miami-Luken.

The 324-page report shares the findings of the more than 18-month investigation, identifying breakdowns within the distributors’ anti-diversion strategies and serious failures to report suspicious drug orders made by individual pharmacies in the state.