New Jersey’s New AG Changes Consumer Affairs Enforcement

New Jersey’s new attorney general is reorganizing the enforcement arm of the state’s Division of Consumer Affairs to crack down on crimes involving prescription drugs.

Attorney General Jeffery Chiesa announced the changes Monday.

He said he will bring together three different sections in the bureau and add investigators to each of them.

The investigators focus on the distribution of diverted drugs, pharmacy inspections and insurance fraud.

Authorities say the emphasis is needed because painkiller abuse is on the rise. Officials say there were more than 7,000 admissions to state-certified treatment centers in 2010 – more than twice as many as five years earlier.