FDA Seeks to Tighten Control on Hydrocodone Painkillers Like Vicodin



By Rob Stein, NPR


The FDA said it planned to recommend that Vicodin and other prescription painkillers containing the powerful opioid hydrocodone be reclassified from a “Schedule III” drug to a “Schedule II” drug, which would impose new restrictions on how they are prescribed and used.

OxyContin, another opioid painkiller, is already a Schedule II drug, defined by the Drug Enforcement Administration as “potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence”.

In a statement posted on its website, the agency said it was taking the step after becoming “increasingly concerned about the abuse and misuse of opioid products, which have sadly reached epidemic proportions in certain parts of the United States.”



The agency acknowledged the emotional debate, saying it “has been challenged with determining how to balance the need to ensure continued access to those patients who rely on continuous pain relief while addressing the ongoing concerns about abuse and misuse.”







Advocates for pain patients immediately reacted with concern to the announcement.

“The concern we have is that it may unintentionally make access for people with pain even more of a challenge than it is now,” wrote Bob Twillman of the American Academy of Pain Management in an email to Shots. “This could necessitate millions more office visits, with attendant costs approaching a billion dollars a year. The access issues will need to be addressed or we will have a lot more people with a lot more uncontrolled pain.”

  • sukiyhtaky

    I live on Percocet and by live I mean I keep my pain level at a level where I am not looking for a gun to hold to my head because the pain is so high. I have been out of my room 5 times this year only to go to my doctor to check in so I can get refills. Live one day with my pain and you will understand why it would be better to let ten addicts get by than to make it so hard on one legitimate pain sufferer suffer with more restrictions. And when the day comes when the pain is no longer moderated with pain meds or restrictions make it so hard I can no longer get them without jumping through hoops that will be impossible for me, I will check myself out of this world. It is bad enough already when the pain exacerbates to a point where the Percocet has no effect and I end up in the ER only to have some snot nosed resident occuse me of doctor shopping or drug hunting…until my pain specialist arrives and dresses him down for not reading my file before throwing baseless accusations at me. People have no idea what it is like to live with debilitating pain.