The Next Great Overdose-Reversing Drug Might Already Exist

The Schedule I classification is based on fear, according to critics. Maritza Perez is a director at the Drug Policy Alliance and she says that it ignores science. A growing number of scientists, doctors, and other researchers are pushing back against the blanket ban that they are frustrated by.

Gregory Dudley is a chemistry professor at West Virginia University and one of the co- authors of the open letter to Biden. Dudley and other scientists argue that Schedule I status could make it harder to fight the overdose crisis.

The Temporary Emergency Scheduling and Testing (TEST) Act, which was introduced last week, would temporarily extend Schedule I classification again but also require the government to evaluate individual fentalogs, descheduling those with therapeutic uses Booker wants his bill to be a common-sense approach to the problem. He told WIRED that the bill strikes a middle ground to make sure we are doing all we can to save lives.

The status quo doesn't work for some people. But I also very strongly believe that the research on Schedule I drugs should be made simpler. Drugs like cannabis and psilocybin are classified as Schedule I, which makes it difficult to research them.

Public health would benefit from the discovery of a new overdose-reversal medication. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is the only drug widely used for reversing overdoses. It is similar to the opiate oxymorphone in that it blocks the effects of other drugs. It isn't a silver bullet, but it's an important tool for keeping people alive Sometimes it is in short supply and can be expensive.

"Anything we can do that would increase the variability of products on the market could potentially help overcome supply chain issues and hopefully drive down prices." There might be a better way to reverse overdoses.

It isn't always as effective as it is with less powerful drugs. Re-narcotization is one of the problems. Someone who took too much heroin may have their symptoms return if they get a dose of the antidote. It's bad news if you have just a single dose of the drug at hand. If there is a more efficient way to reverse overdoses of Fentanyl, it could have a huge impact.