Report: Lions Among Teams Inspected For DEA Investigation Into Handling, Distribution Of Prescription Painkillers
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - In a lawsuit filed in May, more than 1,300 former NFL players allege that teams illegally provided them prescription painkillers to keep them on the field. The DEA opened an investigation into the handling and distribution of such drugs by NFL teams. As part of that inquiry, the DEA surprised several teams playing on the road Sunday by dropping in for inspections.
The Detroit Lions were among those teams whom the DEA visited, according to a report by WXYZ in Detroit.
"From what I understand they did interview one of our doctors, and I know we were in compliance," Caldwell said, per WXYZ.
The San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks were also visited by the DEA, according to ESPN, which also reported that 49ers spokesman Bob Lange described the visits as "random checks of team physicians as they travel to see if anyone is transporting controlled substances across state lines."
In the lawsuit that sparked the federal investigation, players allege that teams broke the laws governing the handling and distribution of prescription painkillers in a variety of ways. Former Lion J.D. Hill, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, told CBS Detroit in July that players were given such medication without prescriptions, without being told of potential side effects, without being told not to share medication with teammates, and without being told whether that medication could be taken in combination with other drugs.
"It was pretty free and loose," Hill said. "It was pretty free and loose."
