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Senator Capito sponsors opioid diversion bill
WASHINGTON (WTRF) - As the opioid epidemic rages on, lawmakers are working on legislation that would tackle some of the foundational issues surrounding the crisis.
West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito has helped introduce bi-partisan legislation that would provide drug manufacturers with data to identify pharmacies that are suspiciously ordering prescription opioids.
Capito says there are distributors and pharmacies in certain areas, like Williamson and Kermit, West Virginia, that have seen an influx of opioids disproportionate to the population.
"We need to make sure that we're watching that, that we're detecting any overflow of addictive opioids, and that's what this Diversion Act will do. It will help empower the DEA and others to be more aggressive in stopping this enormous distribution of opioids in and around our states," said Capito.
The Using Data to Prevent Opioid Diversion Act of 2018 would also allow law enforcement to hold drug manufacturers and distributors accountable if they fail to use the data to identify, report and stop suspicious orders of prescription opioids.