According to an editorial, since gabapentinoids became restricted drugs in UK in April 2019, clinicians have faced new prescribing challenges: prescriptions must be signed by hand, repeat prescriptions are banned, and pharmacies must dispense the prescribed drug within 28 days of issue. It notes that although subsequent lobbying has meant that gabapentioids do not need to be locked in a controlled drug cupboard, the other inconveniences associated with rescheduling, combined with these new study findings could have a chilling effect on prescribing. Whether these measures will reduce these specific harms remains unclear. It adds that there is need to improve understanding of gabapentinoid dependency: how it happens and its prevalence, incidence, and determinants and also what is driving the age related differences in risks and how recent legal restrictions will affect the illicit market in diverted drugs. It acknowledges however that despite reasonable concerns, gabapentinoids remain a valued therapeutic option for many people, and the best treatment decisions are made in full partnership with patients, after consideration of all available evidence on both.