After Federal Judge Strikes Down Ban on Zohydro, Massachusetts Governor Seeks Legal Limitations

Recently, a federal judge struck down Massachusetts’s ban on Zohydro, a powerful new opioid painkiller that many legislators fear could be more addictive than oxycodone or hydrocodone. Now, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick seeks to put limits on Zohydro prescriptions in his state to protect against potential prescription painkiller addictions.

The Patrick administration announced on Tuesday, April 22nd, that doctors would be required to complete a risk assessment and pain management treatment agreement before they would be allowed to prescribe Zohydro to any potential patients.

“We are in the midst of a public health emergency around opioid abuse and we need to do everything in our power to prevent it from getting worse,” Patrick said in a statement. “The broad actions we are taking to address the opioid epidemic will help save lives and give families struggling with addiction new hope.”

Proponents of the prescription painkiller say that allowing Zohydro onto the market will help people that suffer from chronic pain. By having access to a potent opioid, chronic pain sufferers can take smaller doses or have alternatives when some types of pain medication don’t work.

However, public objections to the FDA approval of Zohydro have not centered on the active ingredients, but on the rapidly-growing epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse in the US.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg defended the FDA’s choice to approve Zohydro, and told Senators at a hearing that the painkiller fills an “important and unique niche” to treat chronic pain.  She said that, because the drug is just hydrocodone and nothing else, there is much less potential for liver failure related to taking the pain medication. Other opioid pain painkillers, when taken regularly at high doses, increase the risk of liver toxicity or failure as a side effect.

“In the midst of a severe drug epidemic fueled by overprescribing of opioids, the very last thing the country needs is a new, dangerous, high-dose opioid,” the coalition wrote in a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg. “Too many people have already become addicted to similar opioid medications, and too many lives have been lost.”

The Board of Medicine voted on Tuesday to accept the new restrictions. Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett issued an emergency order that would require physicians to use the Massachusetts Prescription Monitoring Program before prescribing Zohyrdro. The program would help prescribers track potential drug-seeking or prescription addiction behavior.

“The introduction of this new painkiller into the market poses a significant risk to individuals already addicted to opioids and to the public at large,” Bartlett said in a statement. “These new safeguards are critical to prevent misuse.”

The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Charges of Prescription Painkiller Abuse

If you have received criminal drug abuse charges, or are suspected of abusing prescription painkillers, you are not automatically guilty, and you do not give up any of your rights. The attorneys at the Strom Law Firm can help defend you. We offer free, confidential consultations to discuss the facts of your case. Do not let criminal drug charges such as trafficking or possession ruin your reputation and career prospects. Contact us today. 803.252.4800.