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Tag: opioid epidemic

  • Massive Drug Spoon Sculpture Dropped At Purdue Pharma HQ

    Massive Drug Spoon Sculpture Dropped At Purdue Pharma HQ

    The message behind the guerrilla art exhibit is to call attention to the potential danger of prescription opioids.

    A gallery owner was arrested Friday morning (June 22) after placing a sculpture of a massive steel spoon at the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

    Fernando Louis Alvarez was arrested and charged with obstruction of free passage, a criminal misdemeanor. The sculpture was displayed in front of the Stamford, Connecticut office for about two hours until it was hauled away by city workers.

    The 800-pound, 10.5-foot-long work of “guerrilla art” appears burnt and bent at the handle, a sight familiar to people who heat up and inject heroin. The artist, Domenic Esposito, of Westwood, Massachusetts, described how his family was affected by his brother Danny’s nearly 14-year addiction to heroin, which began with OxyContin and Percocet.

    “My mom would call me in a panic… screaming she found another burnt spoon. This is a story thousands of families go through. He’s lucky to be alive,” he said, according to the Hartford Courant.

    “The spoon has always been an albatross for my family. It’s kind of an emotional symbol, a dark symbol for me,” he added.

    The message behind the art exhibit is to call attention to the potential danger of prescription opioids, and to call on the federal government to “step in and do something,” Esposito said. Danny has been sober for the last four months.

    Purdue Pharma is among several pharmaceutical companies being targeted by lawsuits across cities, counties, and states that believe these entities had a hand in worsening the opioid crisis. Purdue, specifically, is accused of using deceptive marketing and downplaying the risk of addiction to promote OxyContin.

    The company has since announced that it will no longer market OxyContin to doctors, and just last week, laid off its entire sales team.

    Purdue released a statement on Friday regarding Esposito’s sculpture: “We share the protestors’ concern about the opioid crisis, and respect their right to peacefully express themselves. Purdue is committed to working collaboratively with those affected by this public health crisis on meaningful solutions to help stem the tide of opioid-related overdose deaths.”

    The night of the guerrilla art display, Alvarez hosted the opening of a full exhibit on the opioid crisis at his art gallery in Stamford.

    The spoon has reportedly been submitted as evidence.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Healthcare Pros Talk Unintended Consequences Of Addressing Opioid Crisis

    Healthcare Pros Talk Unintended Consequences Of Addressing Opioid Crisis

    “Doctors just say, ‘That’s it, I’m done. I’m not going to lose my license over you and good luck,’ and that’s unconscionable,” said one health expert.

    The opioid epidemic has drawn more political and media attention than any other public health crisis in recent memory, but healthcare professionals say that the focus on preventing opioid-related deaths is having unintended consequences for patients dealing with other conditions including cancer, chronic pain and other forms of substance use disorder. 

    One of the biggest concerns is that patients are being taken off their opioids too quickly, which can increase physical symptoms of withdrawal and leave patients feeling overwhelmed by the idea of quitting. 

    “Some people will be tapered too quickly or in a way that is intolerable to them,” Elinore McCance-Katz, the Health and Human Services assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, told Politico. 

    Sally Satel, a psychiatrist and Yale University School of Medicine lecturer, said that some doctors are less understanding of slowly tapering patients because they’re concerned about their own liability. 

    “I’ve seen patients where doctors just say ‘That’s it, I’m done. I’m not going to lose my license over you and good luck,’ and that’s unconscionable,” she said.

    Although policies have shifted to focus on non-opioid pain relief, these options are still less likely to be covered by insurance, leaving patients with chronic pain with few options.

    The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department have begun paying for alternative care, but “beyond that it’s pretty much just been lip service and it’s a little challenging how to craft legislation that affects what private payers are able to offer in this arena,” said Bob Twillman, executive director of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management. 

    “It’s one thing for an insurer to cover [an opioid alternative]. It’s another thing to cover it at a co-pay that the patient can afford,” said Cindy Reilly, who recently left the Pew Charitable Trust, where she focused on issues around opioid use and access to effective pain management. “We need to stop making opioids the easy decision—in terms of writing prescriptions and patient access. Higher co-pays will stand in the way.”

    Sean Morrison, chairman of the geriatrics and palliative medicine department at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said that he is increasingly seeing hospice patients unable to get the opioid drugs needed to make their end of life more bearable. 

    “Almost every patient I have prescribed for recently has either a) run into pharmacies that no longer carry common opioids; b) cannot receive a full supply; and c) worst of all had their mail order pharmacy refuse to fill or have had arbitrary and non-science based dose or pill limits imposed,” he said. 

    Joe Rotella, the chief medical officer for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, agreed. 

    “Even with exemptions for hospice care, prescription limits are still having an impact,” he said. “Patients have a tougher time getting these medications and it’s a lot more hassle for providers.”

    Cancer patients are also being affected as hospitals experience a shortage of IV fentanyl and morphine. 

    Finally, the focus on funding interventions for people abusing opioids has deflected money from other drug-intervention programs. This is especially problematic in areas like the Southwest, where overdose deaths from methamphetamine are rising sharply. 

    “We treat drug epidemics like ‘whack a mole,’” said West Virginia Public Health Commissioner Rahul Gupta. “We get one under control, another pops up.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Are Health Insurers Driving The Opioid Crisis?

    Are Health Insurers Driving The Opioid Crisis?

    While the brunt of the negative attention has focused on drug suppliers and prescribers, experts are now examining the role that insurers have played in the epidemic.

    Health insurers could be stoking the opioid epidemic, according to a new study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open.

    “Our findings suggest that both public and private insurers, at least unwittingly, have contributed importantly to the epidemic,” said study senior author Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, an associate professor in the Bloomberg School’s Department of Epidemiology.

    That’s based on a 2017 analysis of 15 Medicaid plans, 15 Medicare plans and 20 private insurers, which revealed that many aren’t applying evidence-based “utilization management” rules that could cut down on opioid overuse.

    “Opioids are just one tool in the pain management tool box, and unfortunately, many of the plans that we examined didn’t have well-developed policies in place to limit their overuse,” Alexander said. 

    The study comes even as a long-term uptick in opioid-related deaths has pushed dozens of states, counties, and cities to launch lawsuits against drug companies and distributors that make and provide the addictive prescription painkillers fueling the overdose crisis. 

    For the most part, the brunt of the negative attention has focused on drug suppliers and prescribers rather than on insurers, but the new findings by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health probes what roles insurance plans could play in the epidemic.

    The researchers identified specific utilization management tools that insurers may not be relying on enough, such as restricting the quantity of drugs doctors can prescribe, requiring prior authorization or mandating that providers begin with less risky drug alternatives. 

    Quantity limits are commonly used for opioids—but those limits might still be higher than they should be, the researchers found. Generally, insurers capped scripts at a 30-day supply instead of the shorter limit recommended by the CDC. 

    Across all the plans studied in Medicare, Medicaid and commercial insurers, doctors typically weren’t required to start with less addictive alternatives like over-the-counter NSAIDs before doling out more powerful opioids.

    A median of just 9% of the covered opioids in Medicaid plans required doctors to start with something less risky first, the researchers found. For commercial plans, the median number was around 4%. Medicare plans typically had almost no so-called “step therapy” requirement. 

    The majority of opioid prescriptions didn’t require prior authorization, which is when the prescriber has to call the insurer for approval before writing the prescription. Some insurers, however, have begun putting such policies in place for patients with chronic, non-cancer pain. 

    “Insurers can either be part of the problem, or part of the solution,” Alexander said. “The good news is that an increasing number of health plans are recognizing their contribution to the epidemic and developing new policies to address it. The bad news is that we have a very long way to go.”

    The analysis comes on the heels of a 2017 deep-dive by the New York Times and ProPublica, which found that many insurers limited access to less addictive —but more expensive—alternatives. 

    “This is not a hypothetical problem,” Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland), later wrote in a letter to insurance companies. “In my home state of Maryland, 550 people died of an overdose in the first three months of 2017 alone. Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are driving up the epidemic’s death toll, but prescription opioids contribute significantly to this crisis by fostering addiction and causing fatal overdoses.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Can IV Tylenol Help Curb The Opioid Crisis?

    Can IV Tylenol Help Curb The Opioid Crisis?

    Health experts are debating the efficacy of IV acetaminophen as a non-opioid pain management tool.

    An approach to cutting back on opioid use isn’t proving as affordable or as helpful as thought, according to the Washington Post.  

    In an effort to cut down on opioid use, some hospitals are turning to intravenous forms of medications like Tylenol. Boston Medical Center was one such entity, adding IV Tylenol as a method of pain management.

    However, David Twitchell, Boston Medical Center’s chief pharmacy officer, says the price quickly became concerning. 

    According to the Post, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals increased the price of IV Tylenol and the medical center was projected to spend $750,000 on acetaminophen, which is the active ingredient in Tylenol, in 2015.

    The Post notes that a normal tablet dose of acetaminophen costs only cents, but Ofirmev, the IV version, is $40 per 1,000 milligrams.

    “It was going to cost us, without the intervention that happened, more than any other drug on our formulary. Think of the most expensive cancer drug,” Twitchell told the Post. “To me, that didn’t seem justified.”

    Though some medical centers are attempting to turn away from opioids and instead utilizing options such as IV Tylenol, a recent study found that this approach may not be any more effective than taking the medication in tablet form. Some studies, on the other hand, claim there is a benefit to the IV medication. 

    Another study published in the July issue of Anesthesiology examined seven years of data for bowel surgeries across 602 hospitals and determined that when it came to decreasing opioid use, IV acetaminophen seemed no more effective than taking a tablet form of the same medication. 

    “It just seems very often, physicians have magical thinking about a new preparation of an old drug,” Andrew Leibowitz, system chair of the department of anesthesiology, perioperative and pain medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co-author of the study, told the Post. “Doctors do seem, in general when a patient is in the hospital, to favor IV medications as a knee-jerk reflex, even when equally effective oral medications are available.”

    According to Mallinckrodt, the study was “significantly flawed” and argued that half the patients in the study had not even received a full dose of the medication.

    IV Tylenol isn’t the only generic painkiller to be offered in IV form, the Post states. The Post also says that more types of IV painkillers are expected in the future. 

    Erin Krebs, a staff physician at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, led a study published in JAMA that determined that opioids were no more effective than non-opioids when it came to managing chronic back pain or hip and knee pain.

    She tells the Post that while it’s good that physicians are reexamining prescribing opioids, they should be careful not to buy into other new medications too early.

    “I think part of the reason we got into such a mess with opioids was really a lack of training and understanding of pain management,” Krebs told the Post. “It’s a symptom of how little research we’ve done on the appropriate management of these really common conditions. These are some of the most common human ailments, and they have not received enough research attention, research funding or education.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Surgeon General Wary Of Marijuana As An Opioid Alternative

    Adams said that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” played a factor in his stance

    Jerome Adams, MD, the 20th Surgeon General of the United States, recently gave a far-ranging interview on opioids and his stance on marijuana as an alternative to their use.

    Adams, speaking at a forum on opioids hosted by the Washington Examiner, stated that concerns over the impact of marijuana on the developing brains of young people and its possible cancer-causing properties, were the impetus for him to reserve a recommendation for its use in pain management. “We know that exposing the developing brain to marijuana can prime the brain to addiction and have potential negative consequences including promoting cancer,” he said.

    But Adams added that he considered additional studies on the subject “important,” and voiced support for the use of the opioid reversal drug naloxone.

    Adams, an anesthesiologist and vice admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, said that his opposition to marijuana for medical purposes was hinged largely on studies that suggested use among young people “can prime the brain for addiction.”

    Adams did not cite specific studies that asserted this notion, but added that marijuana’s “potential negative consequences, including promoting cancer,” was also a factor in his stance. 

    “It would be incredibly disingenuous of me to say that you shouldn’t smoke a cigarette, but it is fine to go out and smoke a joint,” said Adams, who also noted that as Surgeon General, his name is featured in the boxed warning about the health hazards of smoking featured on all cigarette packaging.

    However, Adams did state that he considered it important to examine studies pertaining to marijuana as an alternative to opioids for pain treatment, but again, added, “it is important that we not jump on something that may have more potential consequences down the road.”

    When the interview touched on the subject of opioid abuse and dependency, Adams expressed opinions on a wide array of issues regarding treatment and intervention. He voiced solid support for naloxone, dismissing opponents of the drug as “folks out there who will suggest that naloxone and these interventions are enabling drug use. I say they are enabling recovery,” he stated.

    But he was steadfast in his opposition to legalize safe injection facilities (SIFs), which have gained traction with some city and state governments as a harm reduction-based attempt to reduce chances of overdose among drug users.

    “I think it’s important for everyone to know that I took an oath to uphold the law,” said Adams. “And currently, injection facilities are illegal across the U.S. So, I can not and do not endorse safe facilities.”

    Adams also suggested that a primary line of defense against the opioid crisis could be found in most Americans’ homes.

    “I want everyone to know there’s a killer in our medicine cabinets,” he said. “Leaving pills around or unattended is the same thing as leaving a loaded gun.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • New York Plans To Allow Medical Marijuana As Opioid Alternative

    New York Plans To Allow Medical Marijuana As Opioid Alternative

    “We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” said one public health official.

    The New York Department of Health will now recommend that the state allow adults to legally use medical marijuana instead of an opioid prescription, or if they are struggling with opioid addiction.

    According to U.S. News, state commissioner Howard Zucker announced that the Department of Health will create regulations that allow patients who have been prescribed opioids or become addicted to the drug, to instead enroll in the medical marijuana program.

    Dr. Zucker proposed that allowing medical marijuana use in place of opioids is backed by research which shows that having access to marijuana reduces opioid use and eliminates the risk of overdose, as well as the risk of addiction for those not dependent on the drug.

    The New York Times pointed out that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo referred to marijuana as a “gateway drug” in the past and was not a supporter of its medicinal use.

    Howard Zucker noted this change, stating in the NYT, “We looked at the pros, we looked at the cons, and when we were done, we realized that the pros outweighed the cons,” adding, “we have new facts.”

    The NYT reported that the New York State Department will now be supporting the legalization of marijuana after the results of their state-sponsored study, backed by Governor Cuomo, were released.

    Dr. Zucker was quoted in NYT, noting that the researchers behind the study were “experts from all across the government.” He said that the researchers had surveyed a broad array of issues, including age, and production and distribution, and decided that the legalization of marijuana in New York was workable.

    News outlet WHEC noted that as of now, the New York medical marijuana program allows only 12 conditions (which must be certified by a physician) in those who use the program. These conditions included HIV/AIDS, and chronic pain conditions such as arthritis and cancer.

    So far the regulations around the program have been strict: no smokeable forms of marijuana are allowed.

    Elizabeth Brico wrote in a recent feature for The Fix that medical marijuana was an integral part of her abstinence from opioids.

    “The ability to soften the blow of that transition helps some users acclimate to life without opioids. Even if the marijuana use doesn’t remain transitional—if someone who was formerly addicted to heroin continues to use marijuana for the rest of his or her life instead—the risk of fatal overdose, hepatitis C or HIV transmission through drug use, and a host of other complications still go down to zero.” 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Opioid Regulations Pushing Those In Need To The Dark Web

    Opioid Regulations Pushing Those In Need To The Dark Web

    Researchers found that since the prescription opioid crackdown began, dark web sales for the targeted medications have steadily increased.

    Rules meant to crack down on the use of opioids have instead turned some individuals to the black market, a new study has found.

    UPI reports that in 2014, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) put new regulations on hydrocodone (e.g. Vicodin), making it more difficult to prescribe and taking away automatic refill options.

    From mid-2013 to mid-2015, the number of prescriptions decreased greatly. 

    However, some individuals had found another way to access the medications: the internet. Research published in the journal BMJ revealed that since the new regulations were put in place, more people are buying opioids online without a prescription, using “software-encrypted online portals that permit illegal sales and elude regulators.”

    Researchers found that in the four years since 2014, opioid sales on the dark web have increased by about 4% annually. 

    “This [DEA] action did have the hoped-for effect of reducing the number of prescriptions issued for these products,” study author Judith Aldridge, a professor of criminology at the University of Manchester in England, told UPI. “[But] our team found that sales on the so-called ‘dark net’ of opioid prescription medications increased following the DEA’s initiative.”

    Aldridge also says it was beyond the one type of medication. 

    “And this increase was not just observed for medications containing hydrocodone,” she said. “We also saw increased dark-net sales for products containing much stronger opioids, like oxycodone (OxyContin) and fentanyl.”

    A team of investigators used “web crawler” software to look in-depth at 31 “cryptomarkets” that operated before and after the new regulations. In doing so, they found minimal changes to the sales of sedatives, steroids, stimulants or illegal opioids (ones that are not prescribed by medical professionals).

    On the other hand, investigators found that dark web sales of prescription opioids had increased in overall sales in 2016, making up about 14% of the sales. They also found that of those, more purchases were made for fentanyl than hydrocodone. In 2014, fentanyl had been the least popular dark web prescription opioid, but in 2016 it was the second most popular.

    According to researchers, one difficulty with dark web sales is that they are more complicated to monitor. 

    “Solutions here are not simple,” Aldridge said. “However, we know very well that our results were entirely predictable. Solutions must combine cutting supply and tackling demand at the same time. This requires making prevention and treatment grounded in good science available for all.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Serious Bacterial Infection Linked To Injection Drug Use

    Serious Bacterial Infection Linked To Injection Drug Use

    According to a new study, the number of MRSA cases in those who use injection drugs more than doubled from 2011 to 2016.

    Those who use inject illicit drugs may be at risk of more than an overdose, as new government data claims that such individuals are more susceptible to a potentially fatal infection.

    Individuals who use heroin or other injection drugs are 16 times more susceptible to develop infections or illnesses from MRSA, a dangerous bacteria. 

    MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria, the Mayo Clinic reports. However, unlike other forms of staph, it does not respond well to antibiotics, making it more dangerous.

    “Drug use has crept up and now accounts for a substantial proportion of these very serious infections,” said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, according to CBS News. 

    While other studies have shown that HIV and hepatitis C have spread among injection drug users, this is the first study to focus on this type of bacteria, referred to as a “superbug,” according to CBS.

    Although MRSA can be found on people’s skin, it does not tend to become dangerous until it enters the bloodstream, CBS notes. Health officials estimate that about 11,000 deaths per year in the U.S. are due to MRSA and that while the rate of infection in hospitals and nursing homes has decreased, the rate in those using illicit drugs continues to rise.

    Dr. Isaac See of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), also a study author, states that MRSA “is on the skin, and as the needle goes into the skin it brings the bacteria with it,” according to CBS.

    According to the study’s findings, the number of MRSA cases that involved those who use injection drugs more than doubled from 2011 to 2016, from 4% to 9%. 

    According to the news outlet, this study took into account MRSA infections at hospitals in Connecticut and in parts of California, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Tennessee. Of the approximately 39,000 cases, about 2,100 were from individuals who had used injection drugs. 

    Study authors note that if the amount of people using injection drugs continues to rise as will the number of MRSA cases, this could be detrimental to efforts being made to curb the crisis.

    “Increases in nonsterile injection drug use are likely to result in increases in the occurrence of invasive MRSA infections among persons who inject drugs, underscoring the importance of public health measures to curb the opioid epidemic,” study authors wrote.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA

    Wearable Device to Treat Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms Approved By FDA

    The device can curb anxiety, irritability, depression and opiate cravings without narcotics, according to its manufacturer.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a wearable device (simply named “Drug Relief”) that reduces common opioid withdrawal symptoms, according to Markets Insider.

    DyAnsys, the device’s manufacturer, claims the device will curb anxiety, irritability, depression and opiate cravings (among other such symptoms) without narcotics.

    Available with a prescription, Drug Relief is an “auricular neurostimulation device,” which sends electrical pulses through ear-fitted needles to help ease detoxification. The device is intended to stabilize people during the earliest stages of withdrawal, according to the company’s 501(k) application.

    Drug Relief can be used continuously for up to five days, the manufacturer said in its press release, with relief reportedly starting 30 to 60 minutes after someone starts using the device.

    DyAnsys added that the device was specifically designed to bring patients both mobility and comfort during detox.

    In terms of opioid detoxification, Drug Relief is something of a game-changer since it’s a uniquely non-addictive treatment method.

    “This device offers hope to those who are suffering from opioid addiction,” DyAnsys CEO Srini Nageshwar noted. “We are in a full-blown crisis and we need non-narcotic options and alternatives like this that can make a significant difference for individual patients and their families.”

    Just last month, the FDA also approved the first non-opioid medication to help manage opioid symptoms. And while Lofexidine (marketed under the brand name Lucemyra) alleviates the same things that Drug Relief does, it’s not intended to be a primary solution for opioid use disorder. Instead, the drug is intended to be part of a broader, more comprehensive treatment plan.

    The successive FDA approvals of Drug Relief and Lucemyra, though, indicate that drug companies and the federal government alike are aggressively seeking creative solutions to the nation’s opioid epidemic.

    “We’re dedicated to encouraging innovative approaches to help mitigate the physiological challenges presented when patients discontinue opioids,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. “We’re developing new guidance to help accelerate the development of better treatments, including those that help manage opioid withdrawal symptoms. We know that the physical symptoms of opioid withdrawal can be one of the biggest barriers for patients seeking help and ultimately overcoming addiction.” 

    And while Drug Relief is the first wearable device to manage opioid withdrawals, it’s not the first piece of wearable tech to help combat addiction.

    SmartStop is a device that aims to help smokers kick their habit, delivering specific doses of nicotine before a craving kicks in, not to mention offering real-time support through an app.

    Biochemical sensors that can detect alcohol in human sweat have also been developed, with some of them able to wirelessly alert people like probation officers if someone has been drinking.

    Empatica’s E4 wristband can reportedly help predict a wearer’s risk of relapse, too, detecting symptoms like drops in skin temperature, increased motion, and heartbeat. 

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • House Passes 25 Bills To Aid Fight Against Opioid Crisis

    House Passes 25 Bills To Aid Fight Against Opioid Crisis

    The bills cover a variety of issues ranging from improving sober living homes to disposal of unused medication.

    In an effort to lend legislative support to the fight against the national opioid epidemic, the House of Representatives passed 25 bills that would provide crucial support to both government and public organizations to combat the crisis on a number of fronts.

    The bills, authored by both Democratic and Republican representatives, include measures to expand access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone, develop new forms of pain medication that are non-dependency-forming, and allow medical professionals to view a patient’s medical history for previous substance abuse.

    Greg Walden (R-OR), the Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman, and Michael C. Burger (R-TX), Health Subcommittee Chairman, said in a joint statement that the bills are “real solutions that will change how we respond to this crisis.”

    Among the bills passed are:

    • H.R. 449, the Synthetic Drug Awareness Act of 2018, which will require U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams to submit a “comprehensive report to Congress on the public health effects of the rise of synthetic drug use among youth aged 12 to 18,” authored by Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Chris Collins (D-NY)
    • H.R. 4684, the Ensuring Access to Quality Sober Living Act of 2018, which will authorize the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to “develop, publish, and disseminate best practices for operating recovery housing that promotes a safe environment for sustained recovery,” authored by Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA), Mimi Walters (R-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Raul Ruiz (D-CA)
    • H.R. 5009, Jessie’s Law, which will require the Department of Health and Human Services to develop the best way to present information about substance use disorder in a consenting patient’s history for medical professionals to make informed decisions about treatment, authored by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Debbie Dingell (D-MD)
    • H.R. 5012, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, which will allow hospice employees to remove and dispose of unused controlled substances after the death of a patient, authored by Reps. Walberg and Dingell
    • H.R. 5327, the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act of 2018, which will establish such centers to “dramatically improve the opportunities for individuals to establish and maintain long-term recovery through the use of FDA-approved medications and evidence-based treatment, authored by Health Subcommittee Vice Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Ranking Member Gene Green (R-TX)
    • And H.R. 4275, the Empowering Pharmacists in the Fight Against Opioid Abuse Act, which will give pharmacists more information and ability to decline prescriptions for controlled substances which they suspect to be fraudulent or for abuse, authored by Reps. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) and Buddy Carter (R-GA).

    Reps. Walden and Burgess noted in their statement that the bills will “make our states and local communities better equipped in the nationwide efforts to stem this tide” of opioid dependency and overdose.

    The House will continue to review related bills on January 14, including H.R. 6069, which will require the Comptroller General to conduct a study on how virtual currencies are used to facilitate goods or services linked to drug or sex trafficking.

    View the original article at thefix.com