Drug Enforcement Administration

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Record-Breaking Drug OD Deaths in US Last Year

200 people died per day in US in 2017, per the DEA

(Newser) - Drug overdose deaths hit the highest level ever recorded in the US last year, with an estimated 200 people dying per day, according to a report by the DEA. Most of that was the result of a record number of opioid-related deaths. Preliminary figures show more than 72,000 people...

White House: Death Penalty Will Be Part of Opioid Response

But trafficking in fentanyl won't be a capital crime

(Newser) - The White House has rolled out the "more nuanced" response to the opioid crisis it promised after President Trump talked about executing drug dealers earlier this month. The revised plan White House officials discussed Sunday still involves the death penalty, but officials say they don't plan to make...

DEA Head Said to Be Dissatisfied With Trump, Is Resigning

Chuck Rosenberg is leaving Oct. 1

(Newser) - The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration is resigning—apparently over dissatisfaction with President Trump. Law enforcement officials tell the New York Times that Chuck Rosenberg has come to believe Trump lacks proper respect for the law. Rosenberg, a former prosecutor, is one of many career law-enforcement officials said...

DEA Takes Billions From People It Never Charged

A new report finds problems with civil asset forfeiture

(Newser) - Since 2007, the DEA has seized a total of $3.2 billion in cash from people suspected of being involved in the drug trade but never charged with a crime, the Washington Post reports. That statistic comes from a Department of Justice watchdog's report released Wednesday. According to the...

The History of Why the Feds Spell Pot 'Marihuana'

Plant formerly known as cannabis got a new name thanks to Spanish-American War

(Newser) - The Washington Post wades through the weeds to get the linguistic scoop on weed—specifically, why an "archaic" spelling of marijuana is still in use. A Federal Register post last week announcing that CBD hemp oil is now considered a Schedule 1 drug offered a new code for "...

Now a Schedule 1 Drug: CBD Hemp Oil
Now a Schedule 1
Drug: CBD Hemp Oil
Dec 19, 2016 8:15 AM CST

Now a Schedule 1 Drug: CBD Hemp Oil

New DEA regulation may affect those who use it to treat seizures, other medical issues

(Newser) - A cannabidiol hemp oil that Leafly says is used by "hundreds of thousands of patients" in the US for a variety of medical purposes, including to help relieve seizures, has been designated a Schedule 1 drug by the DEA, 7NEWS reports. Schedule 1 drugs (which are illegal and include...

Drug Bust Like 'Something Out of Science Fiction Movie'

'It would be very safe to say people have died from this operation'

(Newser) - Officials are calling it the largest seizure of pills and one of the largest drug busts in Utah history. DEA agents raided a home in Cottonwood Heights on Tuesday and found an "absolutely catastrophic" drug operation. In addition to almost $1 million in cash and what DEA Agent Brian...

DEA Takes Millions From US Travelers, Often Without Charges

'You've got to feed the monster'

(Newser) - USA Today has discovered that DEA agents routinely seize cash from American travelers without ever arresting, charging, or sometimes even questioning them. Further, this practice has become integral to the DEA's budget. “Basically, you’ve got to feed the monster," a former DEA supervisor says. Over...

Judge: No, Your Cellphone Can't Be Used to Track You

First time a federal judge has thrown out evidence culled thanks to 'stingray' device

(Newser) - A surveillance device that "tricks" cellphones into revealing their location has been a civil rights concern since it debuted. Now, for the first time, a federal judge agrees that using such a tool to ID a suspect's home without a warrant is an "unreasonable" violation of the...

What It Means if Prince Got Fentanyl Illegally

Authorities say the investigation is just beginning

(Newser) - We now know that Prince died of an accidental overdose of fentanyl —an opioid up to 50 times more potent than heroin—which he administered himself. But the investigation into his death is really just beginning, reports the AP . Investigators still need to determine if the singer had a...

Is This Mystery Woman the DEA's New El Chapo?

Well, maybe...

(Newser) - With El Chapo currently in custody (thanks, Sean Penn!), the DEA has a new most wanted fugitive. Maybe. The Houston Chronicle —citing a BBC Mundo story —claims a "mysterious" Colombian woman named Maria Teresa Osorio de Serna now tops the DEA's list of wanted fugitives....

DEA Agents Have Handed Out Drugs, Kept Jobs

Records reveal that it's pretty hard to get fired from agency

(Newser) - It is technically possible to get fired from the Drug Enforcement Administration, but you apparently have to work pretty hard at it. Records from the agency's files show that since 2010, agents have escaped with warnings or suspensions after falsifying records, misusing government vehicles while drunk, associating with criminals,...

New DEA Chief: Pot 'Probably Not' as Dangerous as Heroin

But 'I'm no expert,' Chuck Rosenberg adds

(Newser) - Marijuana advocates celebrated when DEA head Michele Leonhart stepped down , with a rep for the Marijuana Policy Project telling Bloomberg , that Leonhart held up an era of "Reefer Madness" at the DEA and "maintained an opinion about marijuana akin to the opinion people had back in the '...

DEA Chief Steps Down After Sex Party Scandal

Lawmakers from both parties have lost confidence in her

(Newser) - The embattled head of the Drug Enforcement Administration says she plans to retire after three decades with the agency. The announcement came amid mounting pressure for her resignation from members of Congress who questioned her handling of misconduct allegations against agents. Michele Leonhart, a career drug agent who has led...

Feds: DEA Agents Went to Colombia Sex Parties

Report slams handling of sexual misconduct at multiple agencies

(Newser) - The DEA was pretty relaxed about allegations that its agents attended sex parties funded by drug cartels, according to a Justice Department report on sexual harassment and misconduct at federal agencies. The report says the parties—which an official tells the AP took place in Colombia—allegedly happened in government-leased...

Amid Record Meth Seizures at Border, a 'Clear Trend'

Would-be smugglers are strapping it to their bodies, says official

(Newser) - Stashed in gas tanks, fire extinguishers, even wheels of cheese—those were some of the ways drug runners tried and failed in fiscal 2014 to smuggle methamphetamine through ports at the California-Mexico border, where meth seizures reached record levels, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. According to US Customs and Border...

DEA Carries Out Surprise NFL Drug Checks

No arrests made after agents spot-check visiting teams

(Newser) - Federal drug enforcement agents showed up unannounced yesterday to check at least three visiting NFL teams' medical staffs as part of an investigation into former players' claims that teams mishandled prescription drugs . There were no arrests, a Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman says. The San Francisco 49ers' staff was checked at...

Feds Used Woman's Identity for Fake Facebook Profile

Posted compromising pictures of Sondra Arquiett

(Newser) - A DEA agent used a woman's identity—along with private pictures from her phone—to create a fake Facebook profile without her knowledge, BuzzFeed reports. The government is defending the agent's actions in the scheme to connect with potential criminal targets. In a court filing, officials say special...

DEA Paid Amtrak Informant $854K for Free Lists

They could have lawfully obtained the lists at no charge

(Newser) - The US Drug Enforcement Agency has paid an Amtrak secretary $854,460 over a 20-year period for passenger list data that it could have obtained for free, the AP has learned. Moreover, by not using a joint drug enforcement task force directly with Amtrak, Amtrak police have been denied a...

DEA Paid Broke Addict in Crack: Lawsuit

Court papers claim federal agents got the man hooked again

(Newser) - A drug addict who says he was “targeted” by DEA agents because they knew about his past addiction has filed an $8.5 million lawsuit against the agency, claiming that agents used crack cocaine as payment for his help and got him hooked again, reports AP . The legal papers...

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