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U.S. DEA relaxes production limits on controlled drugs for COVID-19 patients

S.J.B.

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U.S. DEA relaxes production limits on controlled drugs for COVID-19 patients
Reuters
April 7th, 2020
(Reuters) - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said on Tuesday it was increasing production limits by 15% for certain controlled substance medicines that were in high demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency’s directive includes painkillers, such as fentanyl, morphine and hydromorphone, and certain cough or cold-medicine ingredients like codeine, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.

U.S. doctors running out of narcotics needed for COVID-19 patients had asked the federal government to raise production limits for drugmakers, after national quotas had been tightened to address the opioid addiction crisis. (reut.rs/2Xk7P94)

The DEA had previously reduced the overall fentanyl quota by over 30% for 2020.
Read the full story here.
 
Spikes in demand from coronavirus patients are creating shortages of asthma drugs and sedatives for ventilator patients
Christopher Rowland and Joanna Slater
April 12th, 2020
Hospitals in regions experiencing a surge of coronavirus patients are struggling to maintain supplies of antibiotics, antivirals and sedatives required for patients on ventilators, and other drugs produced in countries where the pandemic has halted or curbed manufacturing.

Although overlooked by a public focused on shortages of ventilators and personal protective equipment, hospitals are increasingly concerned about future shortages of lifesaving drugs as authorities in India and other countries producing the drugs try to guarantee supplies for their own people.

New York, the state with the highest number of infections and deaths in the United States, has experienced spikes in demand for fentanyl and other sedatives needed by patients experiencing respiratory failure who are placed on ventilators for up to two weeks. The Food and Drug Administration placed another sedative called midazolam on an official drug shortage list last month.

“Everyone has been discussing the requirements for more vents, but no one is discussing the needs for patients when they are on the vents, the sedatives, anesthetics and paralytic agents,'' said Onisis Stefas, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Northwell Health, a 23-hospital system in New York.

Other drug shortages have emerged as unintended consequences of the coronavirus. When doctors hoping to prevent the coronavirus from getting airborne inside their facilities avoided nebulizers for patients with respiratory trouble, they inadvertently created shortages of everyday albuterol asthma inhalers in hospitals and retail pharmacies.
Read the full story here.
 
We are really not "ready" for any major event at all, as a society, or as a species.

Luckily, we're pretty good when backed against a wall.
 
Luckily, we're pretty good when backed against a wall.
Are we? As an American I'm pretty convinced this virus will be sweeping the country well into 2021 due to Trump/individualism reigning supreme. And young people who are all like , "YOLO I'ma throw a corona virus party lawl!"
 
Are we? As an American I'm pretty convinced this virus will be sweeping the country well into 2021 due to Trump/individualism reigning supreme. And young people who are all like , "YOLO I'ma throw a corona virus party lawl!"
I’m convinced this world is taking itself back from our greed. Let it burn I do feel sorry for the defenseless elders
 
Are we? As an American I'm pretty convinced this virus will be sweeping the country well into 2021 due to Trump/individualism reigning supreme. And young people who are all like , "YOLO I'ma throw a corona virus party lawl!"
To be fair not all young people are out partying. And in college towns up to like 10 or so students may live in the same house anyways. So when you see some kids out drinking on the front lawn it’s not necessarily partying since after all they already live together anyways. Not saying that’s always the case but just about everyone I know respects the guidelines
 
Are we? As an American I'm pretty convinced this virus will be sweeping the country well into 2021 due to Trump/individualism reigning supreme. And young people who are all like , "YOLO I'ma throw a corona virus party lawl!"

Sometimes you have to trip over a few smaller walls before you find one you can really put your back into.
 
"The agency said on Tuesday it would also increase the production allowance for opioid-addiction drug methadone to ensure that opioid treatment programs have sufficient supplies to treat patients suffering from opioid use disorder."

Why in the hell would they ever have been at limits under the supply needed to treat people suffering from this?
 
"The agency said on Tuesday it would also increase the production allowance for opioid-addiction drug methadone to ensure that opioid treatment programs have sufficient supplies to treat patients suffering from opioid use disorder."

Why in the hell would they ever have been at limits under the supply needed to treat people suffering from this?
Because drugs are bad, m'kay? Better dead than drugged... or was it Red? Hard to keep track of who the new oppressed class is these days.
 
"The agency said on Tuesday it would also increase the production allowance for opioid-addiction drug methadone to ensure that opioid treatment programs have sufficient supplies to treat patients suffering from opioid use disorder."

Why in the hell would they ever have been at limits under the supply needed to treat people suffering from this?
Because the US government wants heroin addiction to remain rampant. Tons of $$$.
 
Why in the hell would they ever have been at limits under the supply needed to treat people suffering from this?

they're anal retentive about drugs, from production to usage, they keep track of every milligram, it's quite silly really
I believe the logic is that if they produce "too much" they then have a large stockpile they have to protect from diversion and possible degradation.

The last 2019 production quote for methadone was 22,278,000 grams per year. (22,278 kilos or 22.27 metric tons)
That works out to 556,950,000 x 40 milligram doses. That works out to supplying 40mg per day, every day of the year, to 1,525,890 people.

Also, 813 kilos of fentanyl (=1.626 BILLION doses at 0.5mg) , 34,837 kg of hydrocodone (435 million doses at 80mg), 30,731 kg of codeine (256 million doses at 120mg), 29,353 kg morphine (489 million x 60mg), 67,593 kg of oxycodone (845 million x 80mg)... buprenorphine has no quota 'cause it's schedule 3.

All together this works out to something like 4.2 billion doses of various opioids, manufactured every year. I don't see a narcotics shortage any time soon.
 
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