BATON ROUGE, LA – Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry today joined 43 other state Attorneys General in a letter to Congress requesting they repeal a 2016 federal law that stripped the Drug Enforcement Administration of the ability to issue an immediate suspension order against a drug manufacturer or distributor whose unlawful conduct poses an imminent danger to public health or safety.

"Since becoming Attorney General, I have made fighting the opioid epidemic a top priority for our office. We have worked to educate the public on opioids, provide first responders with life-saving drugs, and give residents locations to safely dispose of unused medications," said General Landry. "The 'Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016' has hindered efforts to prevent the misuse of prescription drugs. Our appeal to Congress is another step toward holding accountable the drug manufacturers and distributors who have helped fuel our opioid crisis."

President Donald Trump recently declared the opioid epidemic a "public health emergency," highlighting drug overdose deaths as the leading cause of injury death in the country. In 2016, more than two million Americans had an addiction to prescription or illicit opioids; and since 2000, more than 300,000 Americans have died from overdoses involving opioids.

Joining General Landry in this letter to Congress are the Attorneys General from Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. 

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