President Donald Trump was the first US President in modern history to oversee a decline in heroin deaths.
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But immediately after his inauguration, Joe Biden rescinded President Trump’s order expanding access to opioid abuse treatment.
According to Freedom Wire:
According to anonymous sources reported by the Washington Post, Biden’s impending move will reinstate the rule requiring practitioners to obtain the “X-waiver” before prescribing Buprenorphine.
The X-waiver is described by Addiction Center as “a federal license that permits clinicians to prescribe buprenorphine for Opioid addiction treatment.”
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Advocates for rescinding the rule say the X-waiver ensures medical experts receive the proper training on prescribing the medication as it can be dangerous if it is over-prescribed. The opposing side says removing the X-waiver will help people get the treatment they need faster.
A draft of Biden’s announcement released by the Post allegedly states, “Unfortunately, the Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder announced by the Trump administration in its last days had significant legal and clinical concerns.”
Therefore, “The Biden Administration will not issue the Guidelines previously announced.”
This news comes just over two weeks after Trump’s Administration announced the new guidelines “cutting the red tape” to access to the medication.
Biden has promised throughout his campaign that he would work to combat the opioid epidemic; however, his initial actions do not show much promise as he seems to be restricting access to much-needed medications.
