FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Tuesday, November 14, 2017
CONTACT:  Sara Rabern (605) 773-3215 

PIERRE, S.D. – Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today he has joined with a total of 44 state Attorneys General in urging Congress to immediately repeal the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act of 2016.   The Attorneys General assert the Act fails to safeguard patient access to medication and impedes effective drug enforcement efforts.
“America is living an opioid abuse epidemic, and 44 Attorneys General are asking Congress to become part of the solution,” said Jackley.
According to the 44 Attorneys General, the 2016 Congressional Act “is a step backwards in our collective effort to prevent the diversion and misuse of prescription drugs and address our worsening epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths…In sum, this Act neither safeguards patient access to medication nor allows for effective drug enforcement efforts. We urge you to repeal the Act so that the public is protected and drug manufacturers and distributors may be held accountable for their actions.”
South Dakota accidental overdose rates have risen from 32 in 2013 to 51 in 2016.
There is no cost to the State of South Dakota to join this request. The full letter is attached.

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