An opioid itself, the medication can be misused, so the DEA works to limit its diversion to the streets. Lawyers, pharmacists, harm-reduction advocates and a former DEA employee say Njoku's case is emblematic of the DEA's aggressive stance on buprenorphine. Health Why New Guidelines For Opioid Treatment Are A 'Big Deal' The agency revoked the pharmacy's registration to dispense controlled substances, claiming it posed an "imminent danger to public health and safety."Īlthough two judges separately ruled in Njoku's favor, the DEA's actions effectively shuttered his business. "I thought I was doing what was righteous for people who have illness," Njoku said.īut a few years later, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided Njoku's pharmacy and accused the facility of contributing to the opioid epidemic rather than curbing it. Research shows it halves the risk of overdose and doubles people's chances of entering long-term recovery. In 2016, after flooding displaced people in nearby counties, Njoku began dispensing buprenorphine to them and to local customers at his Oak Hill Hometown Pharmacy in Fayette County.īuprenorphine, a controlled substance sold under the brand names Subutex and Suboxone, is a medication to treat opioid use disorder. This was the place he'd called home for three decades, where he'd raised his two girls and turned his dream of owning a pharmacy into reality. When Martin Njoku saw opioid addiction devastate his West Virginia community, he felt compelled to help. Yet the Drug Enforcement Administration often makes it hard for pharmacies to dispense it. Suboxone and a similar medicine, Subutex, are both proven to help people with opioid addiction stay in recovery.
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