Prosecutorial View on Demand vs. Supply

(Fall 2017) Following opioids down the supply chain, the DEA is tracking medications to the doctors prescribing them – and then to the patients who overdose. The number of doctors investigated by the DEA has more than quadrupled in a five-year span from 88 physicians in 2011 to over 470 in 2016. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that a majority of individuals who misuse prescription painkillers obtain them at no cost from a relative or friend. However, among those most at risk, almost 30% have their own prescriptions for the opioids, and a recent study revealed that an alarming 91% of opioid-overdose survivors could obtain another opioid prescription.

At a local level, some prosecutors are attempting to combat the opioid emergency by pressing homicide-related charges against drug dealers in situations involving overdose deaths. Successful prosecution is challenging, though, as lawyers rely on toxicology data to medically link substances to the deadly overdose. Prosecutors must demonstrate that a dealer was aware of the drug’s potential harm but sold it anyway. Often a dealer’s lawyer will offer a defense stating that the client wishes to keep customers alive so they will return to buy more drugs. Making these cases even more challenging, juries must determine if a dealer is guilty of the death of an individual who knowingly ingested a dangerous drug.

See more Legal & Legislative Updates articles.