Government evaluates drug to address fentanyl crisis

The Joe Biden administration and a bipartisan group of senators are evaluating a bill to expand access to methadone. They claim the measure would save thousands of lives in the face of the high rate of fentanyl overdoses.

However, the proposal faces opposition from health care providers with in-depth knowledge of the treatment: methadone clinic directors. Sources consulted by Politico explained that allowing its prescription outside clinics is a risk that must be considered with a strict strategy. According to experts, methadone is an addictive opioid that can be lethal if abused.

"The legislation would reshape not only how methadone is prescribed but also dispensed — patients could pick up their prescription at the pharmacy. Now, most have to go in person every day to a clinic to receive their dose under supervision. That makes it hard to stick to the treatment, patients and bill proponents say, because clinics are often far from where patients live," reported Politico.

However, several Republicans have reconsidered their position on the issue because of warnings they have received from clinics.

"Removing diversion-control mechanisms and wrap-around services would cause further abuse and trafficking of methadone, which would perpetuate the opioid crisis instead of solving it," said Sen. Ted Budd.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in favor of broader access to the drug say clinics are more concerned about their bottom line than addressing the crisis that has been generated by fentanyl.

The Democrat who introduced the bill, Ed Markey, argued that "if we don’t do it, more people are going to die than is necessary."

Although there are other drugs to treat fentanyl overdose cases, the effectiveness of methadone has led some doctors and patients to call it "the miracle molecule."

One study cited by Politico estimated that "some 192,000 overdose deaths occurred in the past decade in counties where a clinic was more than a 30-minute drive and that some 70,000 lives could have been saved if the law expanding prescribing had been in place."