The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration released a proposed rule April 17 that would alter how the agency sets annual quotas for opioid manufacturing, according to The Hill.
Here are three things to know.
1. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the proposed change during a speech in North Carolina.
"Under this proposed new rule, if DEA believes that a company's opioids are being diverted for misuse, then they will reduce the amount of opioids that company can make," he said, according to The Hill.
2. The rule would also require the DEA to solicit input from stakeholders in other federal agencies, like the CDC and FDA, when setting manufacturing quotas.
3. The regulatory action follows a lawsuit West Virginia filed against the DEA in December, claiming the agency's drug quota rule "wrongfully sets manufacturing quotas based on the amounts of pills that drugmakers expect to sell, not on legitimate medical needs," according to Reuters. West Virginia leaders argued this approach has contributed to the illegal diversion of pain medication amid a worsening opioid epidemic.