By Wendy Holdren for The Register-Herald of Beckley, W.Va.
WASHINGTON — Two U.S. Senators introduced a piece of legislation Thursday which would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from allowing opioids to be labeled for intended use of “around-the clock, long-term opioid treatment.”
The FDA Opioid Labeling Accuracy Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., would prohibit such labeling until a study can be completed on the long-term usage of opioids.
“In the United States, we consume 80 percent of the world’s opioid production and in 2017, one single year, over 70,000 people died due to drug overdoses,” Manchin said in the release. “These statistics are unacceptable. As one of the hardest hit states, West Virginia has been on the front lines of the opioid epidemic, which is why I have introduced this bill today with Senator Braun to address how the FDA approves opioid prescriptions for treating different types of pain.” …
