IT WAS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY –
Dec. 12, 2022 – The MAT Act would eliminate the special Drug Enforcement Administration waiver that doctors must apply for in order to prescribe buprenorphine (a medication that helps reduce the craving for opioids). It would enable community health aides to dispense this medication as long as it’s prescribed by a doctor through telemedicine. And it would give the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration responsibility to start a national campaign to educate health care practitioners about medications for opioid use disorder. Reams of data have shown and addiction specialists agree that these medications offer some of the best options for preventing overdoses and helping people into recovery. But a 2019 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that fewer than 20 percent of people who could benefit have access to them.
