by Dayna Evans
Last week, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced a state of public health emergency as heroin and opiate overdoses rise. The announcement called for a ban on the new drug Zohdyro, an opiate painkiller ten times stronger than Vicodin. In response, Zogenix, the drug's maker, has filed a federal lawsuit.
.
Zohydro
had just started rolling out in California markets this March, and
Patrick's decision has forestalled any chances of that happening in the
Northeastern state, calling it a "potentially lethal narcotic
painkiller."
.
Patrick
has ensured that Narcan, an overdose preventive medication, will be
more readily available to first responders, but has also promised that
Zohydro will stay off the market until more safeguards are put into
place.
"We must have more rigor over the overprescription of pain medication," Patrick said. Opiate overdoses in Massachusetts rose 90 percent from 2000 to 2012.
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