Secrets of the Suboxone Scam
From an Ex-addict
I’m in a swanky hotel room with my doctor. She’s traipsing around barefoot, in a flower-print summer dress while writing me a prescription for ninety tablets of Suboxone. If you don’t know what Suboxone is, it’s the brand name of a drug called Buprenorphine; a potent opioid medication that she says I’ll need to be on for the rest of my life. I’m an opiate addict.
I’m the last out of 20 or so patients to knock on her hotel room door over the last few hours. Her real office is in a major city about 3 hours north of here, and she’s making her sweep down the coast to the small towns where she has clients awaiting her monthly road-trip. I pay her cash because she doesn’t accept insurance. We leave the hotel and get in her cherry-red Corvette, so she can drop me off at the pharmacy to fill my script before she leaves town. How nice of her.
What’s crazy is that this isn’t unusual. Suboxone was approved in 2002 by the FDA for use in “the treatment of opiate dependency”. It was touted as a “miracle drug” for heroin and prescription painkiller addicts. Its manufacturer, Reckitt Benckiser, made the drug’s widespread release possible by lobbying congress to craft the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000. This act allows physicians to prescribe drugs for the long term treatment of drug addiction. Prior to this, only heavily regulated clinics with special licensing could do this. Remember Methadone?
According to the Act, physicians must undergo specialized training in order to be able to prescribe drugs like Suboxone for longer than three days of emergency use. What they don’t tell you, is that the training is an 8 hour course available over the internet. And, that it is specific to the drug Suboxone and no others. What they also do not tell you is that Reckitt Benckiser has petitioned the FDA so they do not allow other companies to produce cheaper, generic forms of the drug due to their “poor packaging that would create a child-safety risk.” Or even better, that the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser made over $32 million last year… You get the idea. I know all of this now, but I didn’t back then.
Despite the obvious illogic of putting people on narcotic opiates to get clean from narcotic opiates, there is a more personal side of things: People are being fooled into thinking that this is going to help them, while others are getting rich. It’s an amazing gambit. If I were a doctor, I could legally prescribe you addictive narcotic pain medication and when you become hooked, sell you the same thing in order to “treat” your addiction.
I was on this drug for over two years after battling with heroin addiction. At first, it was supposed to be temporary and I was to be weaned off of it. The problem is that Suboxone is a potent, addictive drug. You’ve literally replaced one addiction for…the same one. When you try to get off of Suboxone though, the withdrawal symptoms are just as bad and last much longer. Weeks longer, versus a few days for heroin. No one tells you this. Most people can’t handle this excruciating detox. Not while trying to deal with day to day life. The term Suboxone Maintenance starts popping up from your dealer… sorry; your “doctor.”
Many insurance companies do not cover this medication or its prescribers. The pills, strips, or patches cost as much as $15 apiece from the pharmacy, depending on the quantity you buy. Yes, you read that right. There is a “price break” offered by pharmacies when you buy more drugs… just like your local dope-dealer.
On the street Suboxone strips or “Subs” can go for as much as $25 each, regularly. Most people I knew who were prescribed Suboxone also went back to using heroin, myself included. We would sell most of our monthly script once we realized that this was no better than doing dope. And certainly not cheaper. Of course, you save a few Subs so that when you run out of heroin you won’t be so sick that you can’t eat or sleep.
I’m not saying that all doctors are bad or immoral. Pharmaceutical companies? I reserve comment. I say all of this so you can be informed and avoid the same trap. No one considers that an alcoholic who stopped drinking moonshine and now maintains himself on brand name, legal vodka is “clean” or rehabilitated. And pouring him Screwdrivers while cleaning out his wallet would never pass for treatment. Why do we accept this?
I now work at a drug and alcohol rehab and have been totally clean for over five years. More and more of our clients are arriving addicted to Suboxone, and want to get off of it now because they see they’ve been duped. While they are detoxing, most say the same thing: “I wish I was just kicking heroin.”
Writen by guest blogger Joseph Kertis.
Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Joe has worked at Narconon New Life Retreat for the past five years, since his relocation to Louisiana. In 2014 he became a Registered Addiction Specialist then a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor to better assist someone through the recovery process. As the Rehabilitation Services Supervisor and Family Liaison, he interacts with all Narconon clients and their families throughout their stay.
Suboxone can prolong the life cycle of addiction and can accompany continued abuse. If you or a loved one are struggling with heroin addiction, please get the truth about suboxone. Contact us today for more information.
