Tiny doses of opioid could be first fast anti-suicide drug

With millions of Americans either committing suicide each year or contemplating it, there are high hopes for what could become the first rapid-onset anti-suicide drug. Early evidence suggests that buprenorphine, an opioid analgesic, can curb suicidal thoughts in as little as a week. “Converging lines of evidence point to a connection between mental pain, depression, suicidal ideation and the body’s natural opioids,” notes Washington State University’s Jaak Panksepp, who spearheaded a study of severely suicidal individuals.