Law would address state's opioid abuse crisis
For the past two years, this newspaper in its news reporting and commentary has sought to focus attention on the growing crisis of opioid abuse. It is gratifying to see a public policy response, most particularly comprehensive legislation that is working its way through the state General Assembly.
An Act Concerning Substance Abuse and Opioid Overdose Prevention — House Bill 6858 — would require pharmacies to promptly report the dispensing of prescriptions of all controlled substances, using the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program. This would make it difficult for those seeking to abuse the system by getting prescriptions from multiple doctors.
To encourage better use of the Prescription Monitoring Program, the bill would also require a prescriber issuing more than a 72-hour supply of a pain-killing drug to review the patient’s history using the monitoring program.
Not only is abuse of prescription painkillers a growing problem, but evidence shows that once hooked, many drug addicts are turning to heroin, which can be easier to find and cheaper than prescribed medications.
In March, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that heroin overdoses caused 325 deaths in Connecticut last year, almost double the number from two years earlier. All told in 2014, there were 558 accidental drug deaths, according to the medical examiner’s office, up from 355 two years earlier.
By any definition, that is a health emergency for the state.
House Bill 6858 would also make it easier for those who interact with opioid drug addicts to obtain Narcan. When administered soon after an overdose, Narcan saves lives. The legislation seeks to build on a law passed in 2014 that allowed doctors to prescribe Narcan to friends and family members of addicts. Under the change, pharmacists would receive certification to prescribe Narcan, boosting access. State police and emergency medical responders are routinely carrying Narcan.
The bill has broad support, including from the Office of Attorney General, the Connecticut Association for Addiction Professionals, as well as the departments of public health, of children and families, and of mental health and addiction services. The legislature’s Public Health Committee gave it unanimous approval.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy deserves plaudits for pushing this legislation forward and the General Assembly should promptly adopt it.
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