All practitioners who have a current DEA registration that includes Schedule III authority may now prescribe buprenorphine for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in their practice if permitted by applicable state law.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (aka Omnibus bill), removes the federal requirement for practitioners to have a waiver to prescribe medications, like buprenorphine, for OUD treatment. With this provision, effective immediately, SAMHSA will no longer require or accept waiver applications or 275 Annual Reports. The patient limits associated with the waiver also no longer apply.

With the elimination of the special waiver, SAMHSA strongly encourages all eligible practitioners, as permissible under state law, to screen each patient for OUD and offer access to buprenorphine. Click here for more information, including resources and a quick start guide.

Additionally, SAMHSA announced that given the urgency of the nation’s overdose crisis, all persons who obtain or renew a controlled substances license from the DEA will be required to receive eight hours of training on SUD, with certain exceptions. The 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates that over 9 million people 12 and older misused opioids in the past year. Overdose deaths remain a leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S.