The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently dealing with a major problem on a national level. The number of news and reports about narcotic-related deaths is at an all-time high and the situation is in disparate need of a rapid fix.

The FDA is looking for an appropriate way of dealing with the issue but it seems that it might be more difficult than expected.

“We are putting out communications,” an FDA official told the New York Times. “We don’t know why they are failing.” The letters contain information and recommendations on the use of methadone and fentanyl, which are two drugs closely linked to a series of deaths and injuries, as a result of improper prescribing and misuse by patients.

“This is a wonderful medicine used appropriately, but an unforgiving medicine used inappropriately,” explained Dr. Howard A. Heit, a pain specialist at Georgetown University, for the New York Times, adding that “Many legitimate patients, following the direction of the doctor, have run into trouble with methadone, including death.”

Nowadays, the security bar for these potentially harmful drugs is set extremely low, as methadone, once used in treatment centers as a replacement for heroin, is now prescribed by family doctors for a series of conditions, such as throbbing backs and joint injuries. These cases could certainly be handled in a different and surely safer manner.

The situation is far from an appropriate end, but at least, the first step of identifying the problem was made. From this point on, the authorities will have to debate on the best available solution, decide on it and make it happen as soon as possible.