SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

FDA approves powerful new opioid in 'terrible' decision [nbcnews.com]

The Food and Drug Administration approved a powerful new opioid Friday, despite strong criticism and accusations that it bypassed its own advisory process to do it.

The new drug, Dsuvia, is a tablet that goes under the tongue. It is designed for use in the battlefield and in other emergency situations to treat intense, acute pain.

Known generically as sufentanil, it's a new formulation of a drug currently given intravenously. Critics say it will be incredibly easy for health workers to pocket and divert the drug to the illicit drug market and because it is so small and concentrated, it will likely kill people who overdose on it.

"This is a dangerous, reckless move," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe senior adviser of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. He questions whether there's need for yet another synthetic opioid when the U.S. is in the throes of an opioid overdose crisis.

Sufentanil [wikipedia.org] is described as 5 to 10 times more potent than fentanyl. Carfentanil [wikipedia.org] is 100 times more potent than fentanyl, but is only approved for the veterinary use of tranquilizing large animals. Sufentanil is the strongest opioid painkiller available for use in humans.

Cannabis and kratom? Exercise caution!

Also at STAT News [statnews.com], NPR [npr.org], and The Hill [thehill.com].

See also: People on front lines of epidemic fear powerful new drug Dsuvia [ajc.com]

Related:

*SPOILER* (click to show) *SPOILER* (click to hide)

Opioid Addiction is Big Business [soylentnews.org]
Heroin, Fentanyl? Meh: Carfentanil is the Latest Killer Opioid [soylentnews.org]
Study: Legal Weed Far Better Than Drug War at Stopping Opioid Overdose Epidemic [soylentnews.org]
President Trump Declares the Opioid Crisis a National Emergency [soylentnews.org]
Study Finds Stark Increase in Opioid-Related Admissions, Deaths in Nation's ICUs [soylentnews.org]
FDA Blocks More Imports of Kratom, Warns Against Use as a Treatment for Opioid Withdrawal [soylentnews.org]
Opioid Commission Drops the Ball, Demonizes Cannabis [soylentnews.org]
U.S. Life Expectancy Continues to Decline Due to Opioid Crisis [soylentnews.org]
FDA Labels Kratom an Opioid [soylentnews.org]
Two More Studies Link Access to Cannabis to Lower Use of Opioids [soylentnews.org]
"Synthetic Opioids" Now Kill More People than Prescription Opioids in the U.S. [soylentnews.org]
U.S. Opioid Deaths May be Plateauing [soylentnews.org]

Original Submission