Letter to Rosa Ambrose, Minister of Health, Canada, and Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Canada - Supporting Health Canada and Abuse Deterrent Formulations

Letter

August 28, 2014

Hon. Rona Ambrose
Minister of Health
Health Canada
70 Colombine Driveway, Tunney's Pasture
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9
Canada

Hon. Steven Blaney
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Public Safety Canada
MINISTER'S OFFICE
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P8
Canada

Dear Ministers Ambrose and Blaney,

As you know, prescription drug abuse, misuse, and diversion is a significant public health challenge facing both the United States and Canada. Opioids are a major component of this challenge, and we can do more to prevent their misuse and diversion. Formulations of opioid drugs that lack abuse deterrent characteristics can be susceptible to manipulation, enabling users to abuse opioids in dangerous ways. At the same time, millions of patients suffer from chronic and acute pain, and these drugs can provide needed relief. Abuse deterrent technology offers an important path forward to prevent abuse of these powerful drugs while preserving access for those patients who need them.

We are pleased to see that Health Canada is moving forward with their Notice of Intent to require abuse deterrence for certain controlled substances in order to be sold in Canada. This is an important step forward to remove non-abuse deterrent formulations of products from the market. It is important that Health Canada set an appropriate standard requiring drug manufacturers to demonstrate that these products are abuse deterrent.

Abuse deterrent formulations of opioid drugs can be an effective tool in reducing drug abuse and misuse. When implemented with comprehensive approaches to prevent and treat opioid addiction, steps such as Health Canada's proposed measure could lead to better control of this tragic epidemic that is affecting both our nations.

Sincerely,

Dannel P. Malloy
Governor of Connecticut

Deval L. Patrick
Governor of Massachusetts

Margaret Wood Hassan
Governor of New Hampshire

Lincoln D. Chafee
Governor of Rhode Island

Peter Shumlin
Governor of Vermont