Suboxone, one of the three most popular treatments prescribed to people struggling with opioid addiction, has helped many people recover--but it isn't without controversy. The drug itself is a referred to as an "agonist" treatment--it's essentially an opioid itself.
Suboxone can be abused and sold on the black market--and sometimes, doctors themselves are complicit in illegal buying and selling.
That's the case in Kentucky--where the state's attorney general, Andy Beshear, says he wants to crack down on the illegal prescription of Suboxone:
"We do not have sufficient regulations. either in our state or nationally, to assure only the right patients are getting Suboxone and they are receiving real counseling. We saw this exact same process happen with the rise of pill mills all over the country."
Listen to the entire interview with NPR's David Greene here:
How An Opioid Treatment Could Be Contributing To The Problem Suboxone, the drug used to treat addiction, is fueling a new habit. David Greene talks to Andy Beshear, Kentucky's attorney general, who is cracking down on the new "pill mills" that dispense it.
