Press Release

DEA to share painkiller prescription information with 48 states

WASHINGTON—Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced today that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reached a prescription drug information-sharing agreement with 48 Attorneys General.

“Better information means better decisions,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said. “Today’s agreement with 48 Attorneys General will give DEA and the states alike more information they can use to prosecute the criminals who are contributing to our national drug emergency. That means more prosecutions and ultimately fewer drugs on our streets. Would-be criminals should be warned: we are now better equipped than ever to find the fraudsters who are fueling our nation’s addiction crisis.”

“This partnership provides an unprecedented opportunity to use DEA and state resources and information to jointly combat pill diversion and trafficking,” said DEA Acting Administrator Robert W. Patterson. “We are losing far too many Americans to opioid abuse and addiction. I salute these states for their proactive efforts and know they will make a significant difference as we attack this epidemic across the country.”

DEA has reached an agreement with Attorneys General from 46 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to share prescription drug information with one another in order to aid investigations. DEA’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (ARCOS) system collects some 80 million transaction reports every year from manufacturers and distributors of prescription drugs. DEA will provide the Attorneys General with that data, and the states will provide their own information, often from prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) to DEA. Under the agreement, both state and federal law enforcement will have more information at their disposal to find the tell-tale signs of crime.