The Opioid Crisis Response Act falls short of curtailing Big Pharma’s stake in opioids.
On September 17, 2018, a new opioid bill known as The Opioid Crisis Response Act, geared towards Big Pharma, passed with an unprecedented 99 to 1 in the Senate. The bill seems to be more of a gesture than solution—a gesture that involves throwing billions of dollars at some of the same failed approaches.
Below is a brief summary of the legislation:
- The Trump-endorsed STOP ACT, sponsored by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), targets the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs to the U.S. from other countries.
- Authorizes the NIH to research potential non-addictive painkillers
- Reauthorizes a $500 million a year state grant program
- Permanently allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe medication-assisted treatment (a previous bill only allowed this through 2021.)
- Allow physicians to prescribe MAT for up to 275 patients (previously 100) to improve access to treatment.
- Authorizes a number of grant programs for nonprofits and other entities fighting the epidemic, including one that would fund the establishment or operation of opioid recovery centers.
The Opioid Crisis Response Act falls short by ignoring Medical Marijuana.
While several of these actions hint at moving away from addictive painkillers and separating treatment of acute pain from chronic pain, the Senate managed to completely avoid (even silence) any discussion on researching the merits of Medical Marijuana in helping with the opioid crises.
Considering the volume of articles from respected news outlets touting Marijuana’s popularity as an alternative to using opioids (mainly because of its euphoria and relaxing sensation) such silence was a major accomplishment by Big Pharma.
The Opioid Crisis Response Act falls short by ignoring some chronic pain studies.
For instance, a research paper from 2016 found that Marijuana use for cancer pain led to a 64-percent reduction in opioid use, improved quality of life, and caused fewer medication side effects. It also led to participants using fewer medications.
Earlier this year, The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that states with Medical Marijuana dispensaries have seen a 14.4 percent decrease in the use of prescription opioids
Another study, also published in April in JAMA Internal Medicine, found annual reductions in opioid prescribing rates of up to 6.38% for Medicaid patients in states that passed medical or recreational Marijuana laws.
Medical Marijuana proponents believe the drug can be a game-changer in the fight against the opioid epidemic. Advocates (backed by some doctors) feel Marijuana should be recommended after patients complete their regiment of prescribed opioids. They believe it is a safer way to manage chronic pain and can keep many people from getting addicted to opioids.
The Opioid Crisis Response Act falls short by not involving licensed Medical Marijuana doctors.
While studies back up this case, getting the full medical community fully on board is a struggle, as Marijuana as medicine hasn’t been studied as much as other pain relieving drugs—primarily because Big Pharma opposes what it can’t patent for billions of dollars.
Dr. George Anastassov is the CEO of Axim Biotechnologies, a company focusing on the research and development of pharmaceutical products created from Marijuana. Anastassov has a background in surgery and pain management, and supports the idea that Medical Marijuana can be used to treat chronic pain.
Anastassov says opioids are still necessary to treat acute pain, or a short-term pain that resolves as patients heal. But, he says medicine derived from Marijuana would be better suited to treat any longstanding pain that remains as a result of surgery or a traumatic event, also known as chronic pain.
“We are acutely aware of the opioid problem,” says Anastassov. “Opioids are here to stay, for acute pain, but not for chronic pain.”
Anastassov says historically many doctors prescribed opioids for chronic pain and were encouraged to do so by the large pharmaceutical companies that developed, studied and distributed opioids, hence the explosive opioid epidemic.
Anastassov recognizes other medicines can also replace opioids, but he believes Medical Marijuana is the best choice to help patients suffering from chronic pain. He says patients taking pharmaceutical cannabis products instead of opioids could play a role in keeping patients from developing addiction to opioids.
The Opioid Crisis Response Act falls short in protecting legitimate long-term pain control needs.
Patrick Nightingale, a lawyer who represents clients with drug addictions, is also the director of Marijuana-advocacy group NORML. Patrick says many of his clients enter the criminal-justice system due to interactions with opioid-related drugs and, over the years, he has seen an increase in clients whose first interaction with opioids was a prescription for legitimate pain.
Dr. Adam Rothschild, who practices family medicine in East Liberty and is certified to recommend Medical Marijuana through Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana law, says cannabis is much safer than opioids in treating chronic pain, and it should be much higher on our list of chronic-pain medications.
Obviously the lists of those studying and commenting on the value of Medical Marijuana aren’t populated by a bunch of tie-dye wearing hippy naturalists that many in the medical and government circles attempt to describe.
With the opioid epidemic growing each year, there is definitely justification for the Senate bill granting the Drug Enforcement Administration more authority to reduce manufacturing quotas for controlled substances.
Chronic pain patients, however, have expressed the concern that reduced quotas could make it more difficult for patients who legitimately need to access their medications. Instead of ignoring these concerns, Congress could easily have paved the way for more research and testing of Medical Marijuana’s efficacy and proper dosage for chronic pain sufferers.
It certainly had the framework to do so. Without the influence of Big Pharma, it is easy to conceive that authorizations for the NIH to research potential non-addictive painkillers and grant programs for nonprofits and other entities fighting the epidemic, could easily have included Medical Marijuana by name in the Senate bill.
