Oppose the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access (MOTA) Act
We are providing links to five published reports on methadone mortality. They were published between 2003 and 2010. The conclusion of all five reports was that methadone mortality increased sharply between 1999 and 2010 as a direct result of methadone being prescribed for pain by medical practitioners and that these prescriptions were filled by local pharmacies. These reports, in part, form the basis of our concern.
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Methadone-Associated Mortality: Report of a National Assessment. 2003. SAMHSA Publication No. 04-3904. https://atforum.com/documents/CSAT-MAM_Final_rept.pdf
- US Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center. Methadone Diversion, Abuse, and Misuse: Deaths Increasing at Alarming Rate. 2007. Product No. 2007-Q0317-001. https://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic/pubs25/25930/index.htm
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Methadone Mortality – A Reassessment: Report of the Meeting. 2007. NCJ No. 237260. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/summary-report-meeting-methadone-mortality-reassessment
- U.S. Government Accountability Office. Methadone Associated Overdose Deaths: Factors Contributing to Increased Deaths and Efforts to Prevent Them. 2009. GAO 09-341. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-09-341.pdf
- Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. Methadone Mortality – A Reassessment. 2010. https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19541909/Methadone_Mortality_A_2010_Reassessment.0.pdf
It is also important to keep in mind how the prescription of opioids to manage pain sparked the current opioid epidemic, which morphed from the use of prescription opioids to intravenous heroin use and more recently to fentanyl use.
There are also some misconceptions about the safety of providing significant take-home medication during COVID-19. We are providing links to two recently published articles, listed below. We will certainly learn more about this in the coming year as more information becomes available. We support SAMHSA’S recommended regulatory changes and we are sharing our formal response to SAMHSA, click HERE.
- “Examination of Methadone Involved Overdoses During the COVID-19 Pandemic” as authored by Daniel E. Kaufman, Amy L. Kennalley, Kenneth L. McCall and Brian J. Piper.
- “Methadone-Involved Overdose Deaths in the United States Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic” as authored by Robert A. Kleinman and Marcos Sanches.
Finally, the Association’s paper, released on March 2, 2002, provides a broad perspective with regard to our policy initiatives.
Regulatory Reform and Policy Initiatives for OTPs in a Post Covid- 19 World
We hope that this helps to answer a number of inquiries that we have received through our social media platforms.
