- December 2, 2022
- Posted by: Keith Graves
- Categories: News, Opiates, Pharmaceutical Investigations
Recently, a Biden administration official stated that there was a need to deregulate methadone. “American doctors should absolutely be allowed to prescribe methadone directly to patients,” Nora Volkow, the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said Wednesday. Volkow is the top addiction researcher at the National Institute of Drug Addiction, a federal government agency tasked with researching drug abuse in the United States.
What is the Current Regulation of Methadone?
Methadone is currently regulated under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This law defines methadone as a Schedule II drug, which means that it has a high potential for abuse, there is a medical need for the drug, but it has a high abuse potential.
What are the Concerns Regarding the Deregulation of Methadone?
Drug addiction medicine is a highly specialized field. Doctors involved in Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) receive specialized training in administering the drugs needed to stop using highly potent opiates and opioids like heroin and fentanyl. Some are concerned that if any doctor were allowed to oversee the use of MAT drugs like methadone that the patient may not get the additional help that they need. In MAT programs, doctors not only prescribe drugs, but they use other modalities to treat people addicted to drugs. Essentially, there is more to Medically Assisted Treatment than prescribing methadone.
What are the Alternatives to Regulating Methadone?
There are a number of alternatives being discussed, but no clear consensus yet. These include the following:
1. Keep methadone regulated under the CSA.
2. Issue a new regulation that would allow for more widespread use of methadone.
3. Remove methadone from the CSA altogether.
4. Allow for more widespread use of methadone through a special program.
5. Deregulate methadone without any changes to the law.
China, Mexico and the US Politicians Under Their Control
To get out of our current drug epidemic, we will need to do more than just change the way we treat those addicted to drugs. We need to stop the drugs from coming to the US in the first place. China is pumping out new drugs at a rapid pace and giving tax incentives to their chemical manufacturing industry to bring those new drugs to the United States. These same Chinese chemical manufacturers are also receiving tax incentives from the Chinese Government to ship fentanyl precursors, the chemicals used to make fentanyl, to Mexican cartels. With a wide open border and a Mexican government bought and paid for by the Cartels, drugs are flowing across the border like never seen before. Lastly, many US and State level politicians have been receiving money from Chinese interests and show little backbone at holding China accountable for assisting in the killing of well over 100,000 of our citizens just in the last year alone.
Conclusion
While the deregulation of methadone is still in the early stages of discussion, it is important to stay updated on this development and voice your concerns to those in power. What are your thoughts on this topic?
