Virginia Regulatory Town Hall
Agency
Department of Health Professions
 
Board
Board of Medicine
 
chapter
Regulations Governing Prescribing of Opioids and Buprenorphine [18 VAC 85 ‑ 21]
Action Initial regulations
Stage Emergency/NOIRA
Comment Period Ended on 5/3/2017
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4/12/17  7:46 pm
Commenter: Abby Coulter, MMTSA Org.

There IS A BETTER WAY
 
As an MMT (methadone maintenance treatment) Patient & MAT Advocate, I am so SADDENED and honestly ANGRY about what this mandate is doing to my peers who have found Recovery thanks to Mono-Buprenorphine. I cannot IMAGINE after years of habing my life saved by my treatment only to have it RIPPED AWAY by some half baked legislation. Sure there are always reasons to regulate medications. We MMT Patients have TONS of regulations we follow in our treatment. HOWEVER NONE of those regulations strip us of our treatment. To take away a LIFE SAVING TREATMENT OPTION in the midst of the Opioid Epidemic that kills thousands every year is shameful! Its insanity and it WILL COST MORE LIVES! Im not saying 'dont' bc like I said, regulations need to exist. But government practicing medicine simply bc they have the 'Medical Board' of the state backing their play is WRONG! All we are asking is simply to ALLOW those with documented hypersensitnvity to naloxone to receive Mono-Buprenorphine. To GOVERNMENT its simply WORDS TO PAPER. To a Recovering Addict who NEEDS this TREATMENT, its their LIFE! Do whats RIGHT! Not whats the 'easy road'. We HAVE to work to save lives. NOT SHATTER them. Change this legislation. Dont sign it into effect as is. AC
CommentID: 58322