Action | Initial regulations |
Stage | Emergency/NOIRA |
Comment Period | Ended on 5/3/2017 |
My name is Dylan and I've been prescribed suboxone for over a year now and it has changed my life dramatically. I have been able to remain abstinent from all other drugs during this time for the first time in my life. I truly believe there is a huge misunderstanding of the role naloxone plays when combined with buprenorphine. As you know, the name brand "Subutext" is just buprenorphine with no naloxone. But this doesn't change the way buprenorphine works at all. The naloxone in suboxone is strictly there as a deterrent to try and prevent people from using the drug intervaneously. It does not effect the way the drug works at all when taking sublingually. The problem is that many people are severely allergic to naloxone. And I'm not just talking about it may cause them to have head aches every once and a while. I mean it is life threatening and there is no way that they can have it. There has to be an exception for this new law. If not, thousands can, and will relapse. These people are not shooting , snorting, or abusing their medication. It is ludicrous to punish them bc a few people who aren't really ready to be clean are. I live in NC but am connected to a lot of suboxone/subutext users in your state via Facebook groups. These people are suffering as we speak. There has to be an allergy exception for this bizarre new law.
Thank you, Dylan