Storage And Containment Of Suboxone | DEA Approved Safes
Posted by Safe & Vault on Jul 16, 2014
Suboxone is the brand name of an opioid treatment pharmaceutical that is produced by combining together the drugs buprenorphine and naloxone. It is manufactured exclusively by Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals of Richmond, Virginia.
Suboxone is produced in both film and tablet sublingual (below the tongue absorption) form. In creating a drug that dissolves when taken, the potential for abuse via injection is significantly reduced. The first active drug in the Suboxone combination is buprenorphine. Buprenorphine is an opioid (or narcotic) medication which received approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 8th, of 2002. The second active drug in the Suboxone combination is naloxone. Naloxone is a specialized narcotic that reverses the effects of other narcotic medicines that are both prescribed or purchased illegally. Suboxone is used to treat addiction and is NOT a pain medication.
Suboxone is what is known as a partial agonist drug. Partial agonists are drugs that bind to and activate a given receptor, but have only partial efficacy at the receptor relative to a full agonist. While full agonist drugs can create opioid effects (such as euphoria and respiratory depression) the maximum opioid effects of a partial agonist drug are much less than those of full agonist opioids such as methadone or heroin. This allows patients being treated with Suboxone to discontinue misuse of opioids without severe withdrawal symptoms.
There are many benefits to Suboxone treatment for opioid dependence. The partial agonist effects of Suboxone increase to a moderate plateau, and then cease to increase with higher doses of the drug. This makes it of no use for a patient to try to over-treat for recreation. Suboxone has been shown to be equally as effective as methadone for opioid maintenance therapy, with little to no evidence of organ damage, no evidence of cognitive or psychomotor disruption, and a less likely occurrence of respiratory depression.
Treatment with Suboxone should be initiated under the Drug Addiction and Treatment Act of 2000. This act allows for physicians to apply for a waiver that allows qualifying physicians to practice medication-assisted opioid addiction therapy with Schedule III, IV, or V narcotic medications specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Suboxone is a Schedule III narcotic controlled substance, and must be stored in compliance with DEA regulations under Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 1301 These regulations specify that, in the instance of small amounts of the drug permit, a safe or steel cabinet for suboxone may be used. The safe or cabinet must provide;
- 30 man -minutes against surreptitious entry
- 10 man-minutes against forced entry
- 20 man-hours against lock manipulation
- 20 man-hours against radiological techniques
The Code also states that if a safe or steel cabinet weighs less than 750 lbs., it must be bolted or cemented to the floor in such a way that it cannot be removed. Depending on the quantity and type of the substance(s) being stored, the safe or cabinet must be equipped with an alarm system which, upon attempted break-in, shall transmit a signal directly to a central protection company or State police agency which has a legal duty to respond, or a 24-hour control station operated by the registrant, or such other protection.