Drug czar pick aided opioid biz

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S pick to be the nation’s next drug czar was the architect of a bill making it harder for federal agents to go after pharmaceutical companies flooding the market with addictive opioids.

Critics on Sunday questioned the choice of Rep. Tom Marino (RPa., inset) due to his cozy ties to the drug industry, with some saying he has no interest in alleviating the opioid epidemic.

“This is a very serious question,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told the Daily News. “I’m going to meet with Mr. Marino. And I hope to ask him about this because it’s very troubling.”

Marino’s 2016 Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act disarmed the Drug Enforcement Administration in its fight against companies suspected of dispensing excessive amounts of powerful prescription medications, a joint report from The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” said.

“The drug industry, the manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and chain drugstores, have an influence over Congress that has never been seen before,” former DEA official Joseph Rannazzisi told The Post.