Morris & Dickson Co., one of the nation's largest drug distributors, has lost its license to sell highly addictive painkillers after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration determined it failed to flag thousands of suspicious orders at the height of the opioid crisis.

The action followed an Associated Press investigation that found that the DEA allowed the company to continue shipping drugs for nearly four years after a judge recommended the harshest penalty for its "cavalier disregard" of rules aimed at preventing opioid abuse. The DEA acknowledged that the time it took to issue its final decision was "longer than typical for the agency" but blamed Morris & Dickson in part for holding up the process by seeking delays because of the pandemic and its lengthy pursuit of a settlement that the agency said it had considered.