- President AMLO proposed banning fentanyl for medical use in hospitals to end the opioid crisis.
- Several doctors have shown their rejection of the idea by ensuring that the drug that is marketed illegally is not the same as that used in institutions.
- In the United States alone, 75% of overdose deaths are caused by opioid abuse.
The problem of opioid abuse is not new, although it is getting worse, especially in the United States. As a result of the addiction they generate, thousands of deaths occur every year. Therefore, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador released a proposal. He proposed to ban fentanyl for medical use in Mexico. Now, he added, doctors should look at other options to reduce pain in their patients.
This morning the president @lopezobrador_ made a public invitation to the humanistic, scientific and technological communities, to contribute to the investigation of substitutes in the medical use of fentanyl for other types of substances. ➡️1/2 pic.twitter.com/DWBm3zUEz3
— María Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces (@ElenaBuylla) March 15, 2023
Immediately the statement has generated an intense discussion where opinions have been polarized. According to the politician’s approach, if a new regulation is applied in Mexico, it should also be adopted by the United States government. This would eradicate the problem of opioid addiction.
Although the intention is noble, in reality the situation is quite complex and some detractors affirm that it is not the solution because the root of the problem is not attacked. Furthermore, in case of banning fentanyl for medical use the main affected will be the doctors themselves and hospitalized patients.
I agree with you US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose deaths have increased fivefold since 1999 in the United States. In fact, in 2020 alone, 75% of the 91,799 registered deaths were due to the excessive use of opioids.
This is where you should talk about the fentanyl. The US Institutes of Health (NIH) describes it as a potent synthetic opioid used for the treatment of severe pain associated with surgery or complex pain conditions.
The problem is not the hospitals but the clandestine laboratories
The downside is that in recent years the manufacture and distribution of illegal fentanyl has increased. In both the United States and Mexico, there are frequent laboratories created and operated by organized crime that are in charge of creating their own versions of this opioid, albeit in low quality, and making them available to anyone.
From the above, the doctors affirm that Banning fentanyl for medical use in Mexico or in any other country is a mistake because the problem is not generated there. The truly correct thing is to end the clandestine places that illegally produce the drug. In addition, the sanctions against the people who distribute it on the black market should be increased.
What do doctors think about the proposal?
However, the proposal presented by AMLO is also quite complicated to apply within the hospital environment of our country. the anesthesiologist Isaac Chavez Diaz indicates that he uses it every day with his patients because of its effectiveness in combating pain and because it is relatively inexpensive for institutions.
The President’s statement on stopping the use of Fentanyl for medical purposes throughout Mexico is how to stop using corn to make tortillas.
Yes, you can, but it would be very difficult. Goes thread ????— Dr. Isaac Chávez Díaz (@DrChavezDiaz) March 15, 2023
In contrast, using other drugs for inpatients would imply a much higher expense. Also the other options are not always available. This point is very important because one of the biggest problems that have been reported in recent months is the shortage of medicines.
Similarly, other specialists such as Dr. Federico Vallejo and Dr. Jonathan Rodríguez Aguirre have published videos with similar opinions. Both agree that banning fentanyl for medical use is a bad idea. On the one hand, public hospitals do not have other alternatives to offer patients. And in the case of private companies, they would have to raise the price of their services.
While the core point is to remember that the fentanyl in hospitals is not the same as the one that is sold illegally on the streets. They are completely different products and the ideal is to combat apocryphal and illegal drugs instead of seeking to criminalize doctors.
@yourfavoritedoctor Escueta a crisis in the United States, but nothing has to do with the hospitals of Mexico. #news #mexico
♬ original sound – Your Favorite Doctor
@drfvallejo #greenscreenvideo
♬ original sound – Dr. Vallejo
Also read:
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Armed commando steals fentanyl from IMSS hospital in Sonora