U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is continuing to work to reclassify prescription painkillers, making them harder to prescribe and to obtain.

Buchanan on Monday urged the Food and Drug Administration to adopt the recommendation of its advisory panel, which last week voted 19-10 to place new restrictions on narcotic painkillers containing hydrocodone.
“Prescription drug abuse is wreaking havoc on countless families and communities across our nation,” Buchanan and U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, D-MA, wrote a in a letter to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg. “This epidemic has reached such disastrous proportions that fatal drug overdoses now outnumber the total amount of traffic fatalities in this country. Products containing hydrocodone, such as Vicodin and Lortab, are fueling this epidemic.”

During the last Congress, Buchanan introduced legislation to reschedule hydrocodone combination drugs from a Schedule III to a Schedule II drug. The legislation, called the Pill Mill Crackdown Act, was endorsed by 58 members of Congress.

To view Buchanan's letter to the FDA, click here.

Contact Pam Eubanks at peubanks@yourobserver.com.

 

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