Is the DEA's new "prescription series" regulation balanced?

To address the dual public health imperatives of enhanced pain management and decreased abuse and diversion of prescription medications, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently adopted regulations to allow practitioners to issue multiple prescriptions for a Schedule II controlled substance on the same day, to be dispensed sequentially. Public feedback suggested there was concern that practitioners could interpret the initially proposed language as limiting the quantity of prescribed medication and establishing an ambiguous practice standard. The DEA later explicitly confirmed that they did not intend to impose undue limits on practice. Rather, if implemented appropriately, the new regulation can be considered an important mechanism to control medication diversion while maintaining access for legitimate medical purposes and patient care.