Aint it Funny that there is actual undertreatment of pain to the indigent

Notices - 2006

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FR Doc E6-14517 [Federal Register: September 6, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 172)] [Notices] [Page 52715-52723] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr06se06-137]

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Part V

Department of Justice

Drug Enforcement Administration

21 CFR Part 1306

Dispensing Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain; Notice

Issuance of Multiple Prescriptions for Schedule II Controlled Substances; Proposed Rule

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Drug Enforcement Administration

[Docket No. DEA-286P]

Dispensing Controlled Substances for the Treatment of Pain

AGENCY: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Justice.

ACTION: Policy Statement.


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SUMMARY: On January 18, 2005, DEA published in the Federal Register a solicitation of comments on the subject of dispensing controlled substances for the treatment of pain. Many of the comments that DEA received asked the agency to elaborate on the legal requirements and agency policy relating to this subject. This document provides such information.

DATES: September 6, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark W. Caverly, Chief, Liaison and Policy Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington, DC 20537; Telephone: (202) 307-7297.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On January 18, 2005, the DEA published in the Federal Register a Solicitation of Comments on the subject of dispensing controlled substances for the treatment of pain. 70 FR 2883. Many of the comments sought further information about the legal requirements and agency policy relating to the prescribing of controlled substances for the treatment of pain. DEA stated in the Solicitation of Comments that it would be issuing a document providing such information after reviewing the comments. Accordingly, this policy statement provides practitioners with a recitation of the pertinent principles under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and DEA regulations relating to the dispensing of controlled substances for the treatment of pain.

Extent of Abuse in the United States of Controlled Prescription Drugs

The abuse (nonmedical use) of prescription drugs is a serious and growing health problem in this country.\1\ As the Administration has announced, recent data indicate that prescription drug abuse, particularly of opioid pain killers, has increased at an alarming rate over the past decade.\2\ Statistics published in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) by the Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), demonstrate that prescription drugs account for the second- most commonly abused category of drugs, behind marijuana and ahead of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs.\3\