LANSING (WKZO-AM/FM) — Around $850,000 in federal money could be coming to Kalamazoo for a research project if the Senate and Gov. Rick Snyder also approve funding to determine if people are genetically predisposed to opioid addiction.
Rep. Brandt Iden, R-Oshtemo, submitted the amendment to the House budget bill. He said the money is coming from the $16 million allocated to the state by Republican U.S. Rep. Fred Upton’s 21st Century Cures Bill.
He said, if researchers can find a genetic link and come up with a simple test to predict who is susceptible to opioid addiction, they may be able to prevent a lot of heartache.
Doctors would know who is susceptible to opioids and could prescribe an alternative pain killer.Iden says the allocation still has to be approved by the Senate, survive a conference committee and get the governor’s signature.
The research would be administered by Kalamazoo Community Mental Health.
