INSIDER
Trump signals support for reclassifying pot as a less dangerous drug, in line with Harris' position
Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
Executives of telehealth company accused of fraud that gave easy access to addictive Adderall drug
Top executives at a California telemedicine company were arrested for allegedly distributing Adderall online and conspiring to commit health care fraud through reimbursements for the medication.
Justice Department formally moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug in historic shift
The Justice Department has formally moved to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift in generations of U.S. drug policy.
Feds accuse alleged Japanese crime boss of conspiring to traffic nuclear material
Federal prosecutors say a leader of a Japan-based crime syndicate conspired to traffic uranium and plutonium from Myanmar in the belief that Iran would use it for nuclear weapons.
US government says it plans to go after legal goods tied to illegal fentanyl trade in new strategy
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has announced a new government-wide strategy that will target not only fentanyl but precursor materials used to make the synthetic opioid.
US announces sweeping action against Chinese fentanyl supply chain producers
The Biden administration is taking aim at the fentanyl trafficking threat, announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against Chinese companies and executives blamed for importing the chemicals used to make the deadly drug.
Revolving door redux: The DEA's recently departed No. 2 returns to a Big Pharma consulting firm
Washington’s revolving door kept spinning this week as the Drug Enforcement Administration’s recently departed second-in-command returned for another stint with a high-powered consulting firm where he previously advised OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.
US regulators might change how they classify marijuana. Here's what that would mean
When it emerged this week that U.S. health regulators are suggesting that the federal government loosen restrictions on marijuana, the news lit up the world of weed.
Marijuana recommendation by US health agency hailed as first step to easing weed restrictions
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders are hailing it as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.
China says up to US to create 'necessary conditions' for anti-drugs cooperation
China is insisting it is up to the U.S. to “create necessary conditions” for anti-drugs cooperation, following complaints from Washington that Beijing is ignoring its calls for a crackdown on precursor chemicals for the highly addictive painkiller fentanyl.
El Chapo's son, Sinaloa members face sanctions over fentanyl
The United States has sanctioned a son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, three members of the Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. Tuesday's sanctions came the day Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador talked with President Joe Biden about immigration and the fentanyl crisis.
El Chapo sons among 28 Sinaloa cartel members charged by US
The Justice Department has charged 28 members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, in a sprawling fentanyl-trafficking investigation.
Bexar County district court judge ‘Fighting Fentanyl’ with young kids
Don’t wait — that’s the message a local judge and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration have for parents when it comes to teaching their kids about the dangers of fentanyl.
Feds seek to limit telehealth prescriptions for some drugs
The Biden administration is moving to require patients see a doctor in person before getting drugs to treat attention deficit disorders or addictive painkillers, toughening access amid a deepening opioid crisis.
DEA decodes common emoji language used to discuss drugs
The DEA is decoding common emojis used by drug dealers to discuss the drugs used. One community member who work's closely to help young addicts' find a path to recovery says sometimes there's no decoding, the drug talk is in plain sight an easy to understand.
DEA: Fake pills containing fentanyl helping drive OD deaths
Federal officials say an increasing number of fake prescription pills containing potentially deadly fentanyl are helping drive overdose death rates to record levels in the U.S. And officials warn that some of the pills are being manufactured in rainbow colors designed to look like candy.
Fentanyl seizures up in San Antonio as drug dealers find customers on social media
Overdose deaths in the U.S. have officially hit the highest record ever, according to new data released by the CDC. DEA agents report a main culprit is fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is dangerously addictive and deadly. That trend is unfortunately tracking in San Antonio too.
Men from Live Oak, San Marcos among 13 arrested for fentanyl distribution in Austin area, FBI says
Thirteen people were arrested this week on charges of distributing fentanyl in the Austin area.
Colombian corruption case latest overseas stain for DEA
A Colombian national police officer who was part of an elite unit that worked closely with U.S. anti-narcotics agents has been extradited to Miami to stand trial on charges he betrayed the Drug Enforcement Administration to the same traffickers they were jointly fighting.
DEA agent, gunman killed in Amtrak train shooting in Arizona
Authorities say a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent was killed when a passenger opened fire as officers were doing a routine inspection for illegal contraband on an Amtrak train in Tucson, Arizona.
Off-duty DEA agent arrested on Capitol riot charges
A Drug Enforcement Administration agent arrested on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is accused of posing for photographs in which he flashed his DEA badge and firearm outside the building while off duty.
DEA: Companies had 'systematic failure' in monitoring pills
A retired high-ranking official with the Drug Enforcement Administration has testified that three large opioid distributors had a “systematic failure” in monitoring suspicious pill orders.
11 in custody following DEA raids at more than a dozen locations around San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO – The Drug Enforcement Administration has conducted a series of raids in San Antonio on Tuesday, resulting in 11 people being taken into custody. Assistant Special Agent Dante Sorianello said agents raided more than a dozen locations across the city in connection to a meth trafficking scheme that has taken more than a year to investigate. One of the locations raided was a home in the 500 block of Secluded Grove on the Far West Side. A large amount of meth and firearms were found at the locations raided on Tuesday, according to Sorianello. Sorianello said the DEA can only release limited information at this point.
Walmart sues US in pre-emptive strike in opioid abuse battle
NEW YORK – Walmart is suing the U.S. government in a pre-emptive strike in the battle over its responsibility in the opioid abuse crisis. Walmart says it is seeking a declaration from a federal judge that the government has no lawful basis for seeking civil damages from the company. The lawsuit names the Justice Department and Attorney General William Barr as defendants. Brown went into private practice in the Dallas areaA spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Texas that handled the investigation referred questions to the Justice Department in Washington. The Justice Department declined to comment.
AP Exclusive: 1,500 arrests in DEA violent crime initiative
WASHINGTON – More than 1,500 people have been arrested on state and federal criminal charges in the last three months as part of a Drug Enforcement Administration project focusing on violent crime, the agency’s acting administrator told The Associated Press. Such operations are common for the federal government, but the issue of law-and-order is a major component of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign. The DEA -- under the umbrella of the Department of Justice -- is responsible for investigating major drug cases and international drug smuggling, along with drug gangs who are often responsible for upticks in violence within communities. “By going after the violent crime, we’ve been able to investigate the larger regional groups,” Shea said. “Plus, we’re addressing the violent crime problem in these localities.”
DEA recruits cite 'monkey noises' among claims of racism
While at the Drug Enforcement Administrations Training Academy, Brown said he was once pepper-sprayed three times in a single training exercise while other trainees were sprayed once. When both responded, the white instructor clarified, “I meant the monkey.”That behavior, as alleged in an internal complaint, didn’t stop there. The instructor also was accused of going on the loudspeaker in the tower of the outdoor firing range to taunt black trainees by making “monkey noises.”“We were like, ‘It’s 2019. That shouldn’t even be a thing that we’re dealing with,’” said Derek Moise, who did not hear the noises himself but recalled the discomfort they caused his fellow Black trainees who did. The recruits who originally accused Mortenson are still employed by the DEA and not permitted to speak publicly about the incidents.
Meth lab discovered in North Side San Antonio hotel, Feds say
SAN ANTONIO Federal authorities executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a North Side San Antonio hotel after a meth lab was discovered. Drug Enforcement Administration agents searched the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 80 Trailcrest St. near Loop 1604 and Highway 281, DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dante Sorianello said. Despite coronavirus shutdowns, San Antonio DWI arrests on par with 2019Agents found chemicals in a room that could be used to turn liquid meth into a powder, Sorianello said. The materials found by the agents will be sent to a lab for further testing. DEA is leading the investigation, while San Antonio police were also on scene to provide assistance.
Why marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, the highest classification in federal law
The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance remains a controversial topic. Sparking debate: The push for medical marijuana legislation in TexasThe act established a federal U.S. drug policy under which certain substances are regulated. Despite Congress initially passing the act, the classification of substances are determined only by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA also considers marijuana to have a high potential for abuse, another key factor in Schedule I classification. The DEA announced in December that marijuana extracts, including cannabidiol or CBD, fall under Schedule I drug classification, making all forms of the plant illegal federally.
Cannabis-derived, FDA-approved drug one step closer to patients with rare epilepsy disorders
SAN ANTONIO – The Drug Enforcement Administration has moved U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs containing cannibidiol, or CBD, to Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act. The order places drugs that are FDA-approved and contain no more than 0.1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the compound in cannabis that gives the user euphoric effects — in Schedule V, the DEA said. Drugs in the Schedule V category include substances containing limited quantities of certain narcotics. The FDA approved the drug Epidiolex, an oral solution that contains CBD, for medical use in the United States to treat two rare forms of epilepsy for patients 2 years or older. Currently, the state’s Compassionate Use Act allows for some qualifying epilepsy patients to access treatment with no more than 0.5 percent THC.