A View Of The Usage Of Suboxone In The Battle Against Dependency On Opioid

Table of Contents

Introduction

This is an introduction to the topic.

Learn

Original: Investigate

Paraphrased: Examine

In conclusion,

An opening

In the global Opioid Epidemic, governments face significant challenges in regulating and constructing infrastructure. Suboxone, a drug used to treat drug addiction, has been recently introduced. The number of people suffering from chronic pain or depression has led to drug addiction rising at an alarming rate. Cathy Reisenwitz of the Foundation of Economic Education suggests that America is responsible for the opioid epidemic. This paper will explore the relationship between lobbying in Congress and policing.

The study concludes that Reisenwitz’s assertion that the DEA is responsible for the opioid crisis was inaccurate. Many of her research findings were false tropes that were rooted in law enforcement and not factual. Suboxone would be the best option to combat the opioid epidemic. It’s financially feasible to distribute and is proven effective in other countries. Suboxone was just introduced to aid drug addicts. As many people become addicted to painkillers for chronic pain and depression, drug addiction is on the rise.

The CDC reports that heroin overdoses in 28 states increased between 2010 and 2012. According to the CDC, overdose deaths have increased from 6.2% to 9% over a period of ten years. Many governments are now trying to find the best drugs for patients and posing least risk. Cathy Reisenwitz of Foundation of Economic Education believes that America is suffering from an opioid epidemic because of the DEA.

Mrs. Reisenwitz posits that the drug enforcement agency of the United States is too strict in its regulation of the opioid addiction crisis. She cites research to show that methadone and suboxone are more effective than the current status quo, which is based on regulations and psychological treatment.

To be able understand the opioid crisis, governments need to know who their main users are. Reisenwitz quotes “a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that half of all military personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq are suffering from chronic pain”(Foundation for Economic Education).

Reisenwitz can identify a large population who have used the drug and then determine the problems that arise in their treatment. She believes that the DEA is responsible for the growing opioid addiction epidemic in this country. She cites the example of how, “in the 1970s,” DEA reporting requirements led many doctors to cease prescribing painkillers entirely (Foundation for Economic Education).

Reisenwitz cites historical precedents to show that DEA continued to promote harmful habits over a significant time period. She continues her claim by stating, “DEA is continuing regulation” (Foundation for Economic Research).

Reisenwitz says that this is a problem, but there are many problems. Who is to say that this population will not behave like other drug addicts, even if they bypass the legal requirements for getting these painkillers? It is hard to tell if the army veterans who have returned from war with chronic pain are representative of the whole drug-addicted population. Also, Reisenwitz is only using a tiny portion of the drug-addicted population to make his point.

In the middle of the 1990s, a Harvard Medical School clinical trial showed that suboxone could successfully treat non-psychotic bipolar depression in a large number of patients who were not responding to traditional antidepressants or electroconvulsive therapy (Bell 2004). White 2017 states that the current approval for opioids is not available for clinical depression.

As part of phase III clinical trials, alternative forms of suboxone (White 2017) are being investigated. Reisenwitz accurately points out that opioids are not perfect in their internal workings. Opioids mimic the natural chemical production of opioids in our brains. Long-term users will find that their brain does not produce them as much if it does not have to. The Foundation for Economic Research states that patients who stop taking their medication will feel “constantly swollen, sensitive, depressed, fatigued, and unable sleep” (Foundation for Economic Research).

This conclusion explains why most veterans who return from war are enmeshed in opioids. They fear the pain and can be forced to stop using them. How does the DEA play a role? Reisenwitz points out, “After the DEA regulations changed, [an Army veteran’s] VA doctors couldn’t visit him for nearly five month.” (Foundation for Economic Research). We can see that veterans who are forced to quit opioids will likely seek out other options for chronic pain relief. These regulations force veterans onto the black markets to search for alternative drugs. This can make it fatal if opioids are combined with them.

Combinations of methadone/suboxone may be able to provide a way for users to get high and activate brain receptors to stop withdrawal. Reisenwitz mentions how doctors in France were allowed to prescribe buprenorphine as well as methadone during the 1995 HIV outbreak. France has had a significant reduction in overdose deaths since 1995.” (Foundation for Economic Education).

Reisenwitz’s reliance on studies becomes sloppy. Reisenwitz is unable to cite any studies from the US that could have proven that the DEA regulations caused the rise in opioid overdose. The DEA can be eliminated, according to Reisenwitz. Her conclusion raises serious statistical questions. With enough confidence interval, can we conclude that the opioid crisis would be solved by dismantling DEA? Although the subjects are decent people, their pain leads them to be like average street addicts.

This study uses a small sample, which is not representative of the overall drug-abusing population. What can be done to improve this situation? It is possible to use a group consisting of retired army personnel as a comparison group. Their behavior could be considered safe and prudent. To determine if opioid addicts in other countries are more likely to stop abusing opioids, it is worth expanding the study to those outside the military.

Can we really say that the removal of regulations in healthcare law will not allow for greater abuse and more addictions in the United States? When Reisenwitz discusses the treatment of the United States’ opioid crisis, the majority of her data is qualitative. When she discusses the financing of methadone or suboxone in other countries it shifts to quantitative data, but she fails to realize that the world’s economy is very different.

Spain recently initiated a study to determine the budgetary implications of suboxone/methadone market implementation. The study would see “86,017 patients” being enrolled in a study on an “agonist opioid treatment programme”. (Suboxone, Spain 14).

It’s safe to say that their estimate of the number of people who would be included in their study was too high to accurately reflect the drug’s true effects on a particular group. The experiment also includes a control that measures the effects of suboxone/methadone introductions into the sample. They believe there would be no increase of patients due to the addition of B/N combinations (Suboxone Spain 16, 16).

Reisenwitz’s study supports this view. There is evidence that methadone as well as suboxone can reduce opioid addicts worldwide. The research group estimates that the budgetary effect (drugs and associated cost) for agonist-opiate treatment in year one of the study will be 89.53million Euros (Suboxone, Spain, 22). This number is important because it shows how expensive and efficient the drug is by subtracting it from the existing figures for treatment investment. The researchers later state that the budgetary impact of B/N would increase by 4.39 million EUR (4.6%) and an incremental cost 0.79 million EUR (0.9%) in the first year.

The budgetary growth would be 0.6% (0.48 Million EUR increase) or 0.6% (0.6 Million EUR increase), respectively, in the second- and third years of usage.” (Suboxone Spain, 25, It is clear that the budget is affected by 5% higher costs. However, incremental increases are possible after the first implementation year. We can see that implementation costs are decreasing over a longer time period. This information is very useful. But, Reisenwitz did not answer the important question.

Researchers conclude that the average cost per patient for the first year without and with B/N is EUR 1,050 and EUR 1,041, respectively. B/N costs just EUR 9 per person and is an economical addition to the therapeutic repertoire in the drug therapy of opiate dependency, especially when we consider clinical aspects novel pharmacotherapy. Reisenwitz can be concluded that suboxone is more effective than traditional psychological treatments in addressing the opioid crisis. Perhaps Reisenwitz’s suggestion of dismantling the DEA is better than the DEA’s proposal to start implementing suboxone in all 50 states.

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved buprenorphine and buprenorphine combined with naloxone (suboxone), for opioid addiction in October 2002 (Bell 2004,). Just before Subutex, Suboxone and Subutex were approved, the FDA changed buprenorphine’s status from a Schedule V drug into a Schedule III drug (White 2017). Buprenorphine has an ACSCN value of 9064. Because it is a Schedule IV substance, there is no annual manufacturing quota imposed.

Reckitt Benckiser lobbied Congress to help draft the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000. This Act gave authority for the Secretary of Health and Human Services (DATA 2000) to grant a waiver of prescriptions and administration of Schedule III, IV and/or V narcotics to physicians who have received certain training (As, 2017). This was a new law that allowed such treatment in outpatient settings.

For outpatient opioid addiction treatment with Subutex or Suboxone, the waiver must be obtained after completing an eight-hour course. Initially, each physician was restricted to treating ten patients. This was changed to allow approved practitioners to treat up 100 patients with buprenorphine in outpatient settings. Obama’s administration increased this limit to allow doctors to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid addiction to 275. Despite the drug’s effectiveness and its patient limit, many people who are continuing to use the drug may have difficulty getting a prescription.

Subutex & Suboxone, high-dose sublingual tab preparations of buprenorphine were approved by the European Union in September 2006. Buprenorphine is a List II Opium Law drug. However, specific rules and guidelines govern its prescription.

Conclusion. It is clear that Reisenwitz’s claim of the DEA as the cause of the opioid crisis may be inaccurate. However, her research findings are consistent with many of them. Suboxone/methadone were able to end the global opioid epidemic. Spanish researchers have shown that it would be extremely cost-efficient to implement suboxone and methadone. Suboxone could be used to address the current drug addiction crisis.

Author

  • kianstafford

    Kian Stafford is a 39 year old educational blogger and school teacher. He has been teaching for over 10 years and has worked in a variety of different positions. Kian has an extensive knowledge of education, both online and in-person, and has written extensively on education topics. He is also a member of several education organizations, and has been involved in many educational initiatives.

kianstafford

kianstafford

Kian Stafford is a 39 year old educational blogger and school teacher. He has been teaching for over 10 years and has worked in a variety of different positions. Kian has an extensive knowledge of education, both online and in-person, and has written extensively on education topics. He is also a member of several education organizations, and has been involved in many educational initiatives.