Two U.S. senators from New England are calling for action to reduce misuse of buprenorphine, a narcotic that federal officials are promoting for treatment of tens of thousands addicted to heroin and pain pills.
In Maryland, two key lawmakers said yesterday that they will question health officials about abuse of the drug and state spending on it when the General Assembly convenes next month in Annapolis.
The responses follow a series of articles this week in The Sun, which showed that while many experts champion buprenorphine as a highly effective addiction medicine, the drug is starting to cause some of the kinds of problems that it was created to solve.
Authorities say that some patients illegally sell the orange, hexagonal pills of Suboxone after receiving them by prescription. Longtime heroin addicts and youthful buyers in suburban and rural areas are using the drug to get high and to tide them over when they can't find heroin or other opiates. Some snort or inject Suboxone, the series reported.
While illicit sales occur in many communities, including Baltimore, the problem is growing in New England, where the drug is most extensively prescribed. Police in Worcester, Mass., said bupe is becoming a popular street commodity.
"This is a disturbing report, and we need to review it and get some answers," Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, said yesterday in a statement. "By being vigilant and proactive, and working with law enforcement and the medical community, we can make sure that what may be an emerging trend in Worcester and other cities doesn't become an epidemic."
Sen. Bernard Sanders, a Vermont independent, said officials in that state "must make sure that there is better evaluation and monitoring of patients." He said that while buprenorphine is an effective treatment that shouldn't be abandoned, the state "must evaluate its program with respect to prevention, treatment, and diversion issues."
Suboxone is the centerpiece of a government effort to shift opiate addiction treatment away from restrictive clinics to private doctors' offices. The federal government spent at least $26 million to help develop buprenorphine in partnership with Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Richmond, Va.-based subsidiary of a British company.
The pills reduce cravings for opiates and ease the sickness that addicts feel when they stop using them. Addicts often say they feel "normal" when using the tablets, which are meant to be dissolved under the tongue.
