Editorial Board
A Prescription to End Painkiller Abuse
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In proposing to strengthen the rules on prescribing opioid painkillers, the Food and Drug Administration is certainly making the right call. Tighter restrictions are needed to stem the fast-growing crisis of addiction and overdose from drugs containing the narcotic hydrocodone.
By limiting prescriptions to a three-month supply and not allowing doctors to phone them in, the new rules should help lower the number of pills in circulation that end up being taken recreationally -- often by a patient’s family members or friends.