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Comment by icantdrive55 | Hacker News Reader

And they should be. Two employees at my local hospital died sitting on the can in the bathroom, with a fentanyl Patch lying on the ground.

One was a nurse, and the other a janitor. (They took the used patches out of the garbage.).

(That said, we should legalize at least bupenorpine, the generic version. Addicts would have an alternative to street drugs, and doctors who just charge too much. Plus--drug education should be taught early in school. And tell the truth. Like for nine months, the drugs will work. Then you will spend years just trying to feel the way you did before you took opiates:; if you're lucky.)

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> bupenorpine, the generic version

When talking about drugs, 'generic' refers to a nonpatented version of the same substance; buprenorphine isn't the same substance as fentanyl.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the generic version". Fentanyl _is_ the generic name (the brand name is Fentora (plus a bunch of brand names for patches).

Buprenorphine and fentanyl are _very_ different drugs.

> we should legalize at least bupenorpine,

Like many other medications, there is a reason this requires a prescription.

It has a half-life of a few days, people die from overdoses like any other opioid and sometimes they make the mistake of having a drink (or a few) while it is in their system, which could kill them as well.

Overdoses of buprenorphine require exorbitant amounts of Naloxone to keep a patient breathing because of its half-life.

Nalaxone has a half-life of an hour or two in a healthy adult. Right now, a single metered and prepared dose of Nalaxone is roughly $4,500. [1]

> doctors who just charge too much

I agree. Suboxone is a racket, doctors need special licensing to prescribe it and they know they can charge desperate, dying people enormous amounts of money to treat them.

[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/massive-price-hik...

Because it's a partial agonist, it is almost impossible to overdose from buprenorphine alone. Narcan can be purchased OTC at many pharmacies for around $100.

Buprenorphine is not the 'generic' version of fentanyl. Fentanyl is the generic name for various brand-name medications such as Sublimaze. Buprenorphine is the generic name for Suboxone, Butrans, etc., and is an entirely different medication used for different purposes from fentanyl.

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