Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019;40(2):148-153.
doi: 10.1080/08897077.2019.1572052. Epub 2019 Apr 22.

Demystifying buprenorphine misuse: Has fear of diversion gotten in the way of addressing the opioid crisis?

Molly Doernberg  1 , Noa Krawczyk  2   3 , Deborah Agus  2   3 , Michael Fingerhood  2   4
Affiliations

Demystifying buprenorphine misuse: Has fear of diversion gotten in the way of addressing the opioid crisis?

Molly Doernberg et al. Subst Abus. 2019.

Abstract

Buprenorphine is considered one of the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder and significantly reduces risk of overdose death. However, concerns about its diversion and misuse have often taken center stage in public discourse and in the design of practices and policies regarding its use. This has been to the detriment of many vulnerable patient populations, especially those involved in the criminal justice system. Policies that restrict access to buprenorphine in criminal justice and other settings due to concerns of diversion do not accurately reflect the relative risks and safety profile associated with it, creating unnecessary barriers that drive an illicit market of this much-needed medication. Although proper regulation of all controlled medications should be a priority, in most instances the benefits of buprenorphine highly outweigh its risks. In the midst of a national crisis, efforts should be focused on expanding, and not restricting, access to this lifesaving treatment.

Keywords: Addiction; buprenorphine; criminal justice; diversion; opioid; substance use.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality; 2017.
    1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Overdose Death Rates. National Institute on Drug Abuse, https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-deat.... Published August 9, 2018. Accessed October 8, 2018.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Identifying increases in opioid overdoses. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/opioid-overdoses/index.html. Published March 16, 2018. Accessed July 4, 2018.
    1. Volkow ND, Frieden TR, Hyde PS, Cha SS. Medication-assisted therapies—tackling the opioid-overdose epidemic. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(22):2063–2066. - PubMed
    1. Comer SD, Collins ED. Self-administration of intravenous buprenorphine and the buprenorphine/naloxone combination by recently detoxified heroin abusers. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2002;303(2):695–703. - PMC - PubMed