WASHINGTON, D.C. –Reps. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf calling for the FDA to make naloxone, an overdose reversal drug, available without a prescription.
Our current fentanyl crisis has already killed more than 71,000 people, with tens of thousands of additional lives saved because of naloxone, “which is a proven, effective tool to reduce medical emergencies, drug overdoses, and deaths” by up to 46 percent.
In the letter, the members write, “Increasing access to naloxone is a critical component in addressing the fentanyl crisis that is devasting communities and families across this country… Since President Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has seized enough fentanyl to kill over 21.3 times the U.S. population. This is a crisis that is impacting every single one of us and the communities we call home.”
The members continue, “As the fentanyl crisis continues to devastate our country, there is no moral, medical, or safety-related reason for these life-saving overdose reversal agents to remain locked under prescription regulations.”
Both members sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee and are members of the GOP Doctor’s Caucus.
Read the full letter here.
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