C. Scott McMillin | Recovery SI

Drug Prices: ‘Invisible Hands’ Off

Posted by C. Scott McMillin | Apr 14, 2016 | Public Policy | 0 |

A street dealer explained it: “That’s the dope business, man. You got to protect your corner.”

For most Americans, addiction remains a defect of character or self-discipline.

Thus someone who’s on maintenance but seeking one last ‘high’ often looks to fentanyl as a way around the medication. That’s risky in the extreme.

It becomes easier to dash off a prescription for Oxy than to argue with a determined patient.

Many physicians don’t want to offer opioid maintenance. They’re happy to refer out, to an addictionologist or psychiatrist with training.