Senate Response to Opioid Abuse Could Hit FDA, Drugmakers

[Purveyor]

President Barack Obama’s administration is facing mounting bipartisan frustration over its response to the heroin and opioid prescription painkiller abuse crisis in a dispute that could stall the confirmation of a new Food and Drug Administration chief.

The issue has suddenly taken on broader urgency because the abuse epidemic is spiking in several key states in the battle for the presidency and control of the Senate, including Ohio, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

Senators in each party have announced holds on the president’s nomination of Robert Califf to run the FDA and several are pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to act more quickly on stricter guidelines for prescribing widely abused painkillers like OxyContin.

"It’s out of control,” second-ranking Senate Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois said at a Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday. “Congress, what are you doing about this, Senate, what are you doing about this? And the FDA dreaming up new applications for children and for super-opioids? Where the heck is the Congress in terms of our responsibility on this?"

The debate could be headed for the Senate floor soon, with bipartisan support for legislation to counter the crisis and potential implications for pharmaceutical companies that manufacture opioids, as well as the drugs used to treat addiction and overdoses.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-27/senate-bid-to-address-opioid-abuse-could-hit-fda-drug-companies

[CTyankee]

1. what about people who are in legitimate pain and have a need for opiod relief?

What are we supposed to do?

I get the abuse part of the problem and that is a real concern. But there is also a concern about people like me who are in constant, chronic pain and need relief. We can't just give up and go away. It's a real problem and a "war on drugs" won't help us.