The addiction withdrawal medication buprenorphine is regarded by many as one of the most effective treatments for opioid addiction, but its use has until recently been limited because physicians must have a license to prescribe it. That changed in the waning days of the Trump administration, when the license rule was waived—allowing almost all physicians to give it to patients. But President Biden recently reinstated the license requirement saying the decision should be reviewed, in a move that critics say is hampering efforts to curb the opioid epidemic, according to an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal. The writers argue that only 7 percent of physicians are currently licensed to prescribe the drug, at a time when opioid-related overdose deaths are soaring.
Meanwhile, the powerful cannabis industry lobby is flexing its muscles in Colorado, where it shot down efforts by a state legislator to limit dangerously high potency of THC in marijuana products. The episode is a prime example of the industry’s growing clout in the state, where it is spending more and more money to influence pro-pot policies—including the limit on THC, the drug’s psychoactive compound that can reach as high as 70 in concentrates. Lobbyists have also derailed efforts to curtail advertising and marketing to kids.
And finally, speaking of lobbyists, the National Cannabis Roundtable—an influential industry group—has hired Kathleen Sebelius, the former Health and Human Services Secretary in the Obama administration, as the group’s new co-chair. She joins former House Speaker John Boehner at the organization, just as advocacy groups are gearing up for a big push to end federal-level prohibition of pot.