Suboxone gov. Programs

[Jonecour3096]

I know and understand nurses get burnt out on drug addicts. I have no doubt that if suboxone (subutex) was easier to get and cheaper the heroin epidemic this country's in ould at least have a fighting chance. The Government needs to put some serious time and effort before this disease destroys what families are left.

[jadelpn, LPN, EMT-B]

There are many clinics in many areas, and many are reduced or free in price. So much of the government cuts are in mental health, which helps to keep someone sober.

I agree that it all needs to go hand in hand to help.

The local police need to crack down on the dealers, who pander to the addicted like it is a late night commercial for $9.99.

If an addict is finding hundreds to supplement their disease, that money could be re-routed into a program. But it is not that easy unless a plan is put in place for support on suboxone.

[Jules A, MSN]

Suboxone is not the end all nor should it be automatically considered a long term solution. We need to explore the whole picture. This includes attempting to stop drug addiction before it starts, early intervention, multi-system support and counseling that for most people Suboxone or Methadone is not meant to be a solution for life. It is risk reduction model and that is a rather lackluster and unacceptable plan, imo, for the many young patients I care for with opiate dependency. There is no easy answer.

[Dogen]

Yeah, drug addiction is a huge, complex problem with a lot of moving parts. There are both supply side and demand side issues, including the way we prescribe opiates, the (lack of) ways we manage pain non-pharmacologically, the availability of CD/A&D treatment programs, the war on drugs/criminalization of addiction, a cultural misunderstanding of the safety of prescribed opiates (some ridiculous number of people give away their unused medication). Patients with chronic non-cancer pain who are on opiates are dramatically more likely to start using heroin than your average Joe on the street, but the systems we put in place (rx monitoring programs, cracking down on pill mills, a dozen sometimes conflicting guidelines on how to treat chronic pain) do nothing to address the issues that drive people to use. So yeah... a lot of moving parts.