Apotheca Biosciences Inc. completed its reverse merger with Cannabis Leaf Inc.

The surviving entity, which will adopt the Apotheca Biosciences Inc. name, will develop alternatives to opioid painkillers and will trade on OTC Pink.

During 2016, there were more than 63,600 overdose deaths in the U.S., including 42,249 that involved an opioid, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed legislation to tackle the opioid crisis.

The legislation calls for expanding access to treatment and recovery services, coming up with opioid alternatives for pain treatment, intercepting illegal opioids at mail facilities and combating the use of fentanyl.

According to Apotheca Biosciences, marijuana may help play a role in offsetting the opioid addiction epidemic and the company plans to partner with opioid addiction centers and clinical practitioners to conduct studies on the use of cannabis to treat addiction.