Cutting Off the Supply: The Good and Bad of Opioid Prescription Limits

Cutting Off the Supply: The Good and Bad of Opioid Prescription Limits In October 2016, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin proposed regulations that would limit the number of opioid-based prescriptions a patient can receive based on certain criteria. At face value this seems like a simple, no-nonsense way to curb the state’s raging opioid epidemic, but some addiction treatment professionals aren’t so sure it will work. Here are the benefits and the shortcomings of state-based opioid prescription limits. As many people’s first exposure to the endorphin rush of opioids is through a prescription, giving out fewer prescriptions can be a helpful addiction prevention tool. Currently, opioids are prescribed so readily that every household in the United States could have its own bottle. Under a prescription limit, opioid-based medicines like Vicodin will become less common. Fewer pills in the market means fewer chances for abuse, right? That’s the logic being used in Vermont. Unfortunately, state-based opioid prescription limits are limited to states that have them. Patients abusing opioids will be able to drive across state borders and see a different physician with more lenient prescribing privileges. Also, more restrictive prescribing guidelines could prevent people from becoming addicted to opioids in the first place, but they won’t make a dent in the number of people currently abusing opioids or help them to get treatment. However, helping doctors understa...
Source: Cliffside Malibu - Category: Addiction Authors: Tags: Richard Taite Source Type: blogs