The Food and Drug Administration has approved new draft guidance for stimulant use disorder therapies. The new guidance will be the first to provide a framework for the development of drugs and medications to combat stimulant overdoses.

“Over the last several years, the agency has held workshops and public meetings with patients and patient advocates, researchers, industry, and other stakeholder groups to better understand the stimulant use disorder landscape and inform the FDA’s understanding of the clinical context for drug review and regulatory decision making,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a press release.

Stimulant overdoses are typically caused by substances like methamphetamine, cocaine, and prescription medications for ADHD, according to the CDC.

Such overdoses differ from other kinds, such as those caused by opioids, in that people experiencing a stimulant overdose are often conscious and end up breathing heavily. In contrast, those suffering from an opioid overdose can be unresponsive and exhibit shallow breathing.

Medical professionals and first responders currently use the drug naloxone to treat opioid overdoses. The drug was recently authorized for over-the-counter sale, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.

Officials are using the new guidance to address substance abuse disorders associated with stimulants.

“A diagnosis of stimulant use disorder is made when a clinician identifies a pattern of use of an amphetamine-type substance, cocaine, or other stimulant that leads to clinically significant impairment or distress, including an inability to reduce or control consumption, cravings to use a stimulant, continued use of a stimulant despite it causing negative consequences, and the need to use increased amounts of a stimulant to achieve the desired effect,” said the FDA.

Marta Sokolowska, deputy center director for substance use and behavioral health at FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said there is currently no medication approved by the FDA to treat stimulant disorder.

“When finalized, we hope that the guidance will support the development of novel therapies that are critically needed to address treatment gaps,” said Sokolowska, per the press release. “The guidance is one of the actions within the agency’s Overdose Prevention Framework, which includes appropriate prescribing of prescription stimulants as well as [the] development of evidence-based treatments for stimulant use disorder.”