Anti-addiction activists are calling for Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to step down. They say her agency’s policies have contributed to a national epidemic of prescription painkiller abuse.

In a letter released Wednesday, more than a dozen groups criticized the FDA’s approval last October of the painkiller Zohydro against the recommendation of its own medical advisers.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who tried unsuccessfully to ban its use in the state, says he doesn’t have a position on whether Hamburg should resign. But he remains critical of the decision to approve the drug.

“And knowing the addiction epidemic that we’re dealing with all over the country, including here in Massachusetts, approving it without it being in a tamper-proof format is irresponsible,” says Patrick.

Commissioner Hamburg has supported broad use of Zohydro, noting that 100 million Americans reportedly suffer from chronic pain.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.