Prescription Drug Addiction Blog

Another state has begun to publicly question and examine the rising enormous costs regarding the prescription drug Suboxone (buprenorphine) given to opiate addicts.

The Tennessean reported on the 100x increase in the number of bruprenorphine prescriptions from 2002 to 2009, going from about 50,000 to more than 5 million. The article also states that Tennessee specifically has more buprenorphine users per capita than 43 other states in the country. State Medicaid prescriptions for buprenorphine have more than doubled in the last year and half, according to a cited source from TennCare.

Despite the article claiming the drugs is a "breakthrough," it clearly shows that the abuse of doctors and the drug company manipulation of patients and the system have money as their primary goal. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the street value for those needed buprenorphine or the growing number of people now dealing with Suboxone addiction and dependency.

If Suboxone were only used for its original stated purpose - for short-term tapering to curb the withdrawal symptoms - then it could have been viewed as more useful instead of this growing travesty that has been created through new maintenance programs involving buprenorphine sucking up financial resources.