The public has only 15 days to comment on the rule change. Public comment periods in the Federal Register are usually between 30 and 60 days long, with some taking up to 180 days. Agencies are allowed to use shorter comment periods "when that can be justified."

"This shortened period for public comment is necessary as an element in addressing the largest drug crisis in the nation's history," the DEA said. To see the rule change and make a comment, click here. Comments must be submitted on or before May 4.

The DEA has already made substantial cuts in opioid production quotas, reducing them by 25 percent in 2017, followed by another 20 percent cut in 2018. This year’s cuts were ordered despite warnings from drug makers that reduced supplies of opioids “were insufficient to provide for the estimated medical, scientific, research and industrial needs of the United States.”

Last week the DEA said it would allow three drug makers to increase their production of injectable opioids because of shortages that left hospitals scrambling to find effective analgesics to treat patients suffering from acute pain. The shortages of injectable fentanyl and morphine are largely due to manufacturing problems, although some critics say the DEA itself is partly responsible.

DEA ‘Asleep at the Switch’

The proposed rule change was triggered by a lawsuit filed against the DEA by West Virginia, alleging that the current quota system “unlawfully conflates market demand for dangerous narcotics with the amount of legitimate medical needs.”

“The DEA -- the agency tasked with effectively limiting how many opioid pain pills can be manufactured -- has been asleep at the switch and unwilling to recognize fatal flaws within its own system,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey. The lawsuit was put on hold after Sessions directed the DEA to change its rules.

Under the proposed rules, the DEA would be required to get input from states, Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services before setting opioid quotas.

Since becoming Attorney General, Sessions has been almost singularly focused on prescription opioids as the cause of the addiction and overdose crisis, even though about two-thirds of all overdoses are caused by black market drugs such as illicit fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. Less than one percent of legally prescribed opioids are diverted, according to the DEA’s own figures.

In February, Sessions said pain sufferers should “tough it out” and take aspirin, rather than turn to opioids for pain relief. "Sometimes you just need to take two Bufferin or something and go to bed," he said.