Advocates are hailing the passage of a bill that they say will help combat opioid overdoses by giving people more access to naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses.

Shawn Lang, deputy director of programs and policy at the nonprofit AIDS Connecticut, said the "landmark" legislation will allow pharmacists, after they receive training and certification through the Department of Consumer Protection, to prescribe the life-saving drug to Connecticut families, first responders and the treatment community.

"The most important piece of this is that families will be able to go a pharmacy without a prescription to get naloxone," said Lang. "We think this is going to remove barriers for families. It's tough for them to talk about their loved one's addiction to a doctor. This will give families a little more anonymity."

The bill would require continuing education for medical professionals who prescribe pain killers and would reconvene the Alcohol and Drug Policy Council.

Gary Mendell, Connecticut resident and founder of Shatterproof, a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to protect people from addiction and end the stigma and suffering of those affected by addiction, said the bill is an important, continuing step to help prevent substance abuse and opioid overdoses.

Mendell lost his son, Brian, in 2011 after a long battle with drug addiction.

He said addiction touches suburban and rural communities alike and is having devastating effects on all segments of our population — teenagers, working professionals and grandparents — who have all overdosed in the past year.

"I am so pleased that Connecticut is addressing the tragic growing trend of deaths from drug overdose, which has become the leading cause of injury death in the United States," said Mendell.

Lang believes that training medical professionals on how to screen patients and inform them that certain pain medications can lead to addiction will prevent heroin use since many users get hooked after using prescribed opioids.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who proposed the legislation, thanked lawmakers for passing the bill.

"Not only do we need to eliminate a lifetime of permanent punishment with our drug laws by giving people a second chance, but we also need to prevent addiction in the first place," Malloy said. "This legislation does just that. By ensuring that health care professionals prescribing treatment are utilizing patient history data to help them make smart decisions, we'll curb potential abuse."

An earlier version of the bill would have required prescribers to check a patient's record in the state's Prescription Monitoring Program before prescribing more than a 72-hour supply of narcotic pain medication.

That provision was removed due to cost concerns. Physicians would be required to report a seven-day supply of opioids as already required under current law. 

Lang said between 2009 and 2014 more than 2,000 accidental and unintentional opioid-involved deaths occurred in 150 of Connecticut's 169 cities and towns. She said in the past five years all but 17 towns were affected by heroin overdoses.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner reported that heroin was involved in 325 deaths, or 58 percent of all accidental deaths, in 2014.

Several laws have been passed during the Malloy administration to curb substance abuse and opioid overdoses. The Good Samaritan law passed in 2012 encourages people to call 911 to save the life of someone who has overdosed.

Third-party prescription laws passed in 2014 allow practitioners to prescribe naloxone to anyone who can treat or prevent a drug overdose, such as family members or friends of suspected opioid abusers.

State police carry naloxone in their cruisers, and trained emergency medical technicians can also administer the drug.

"The bottom line is this (bill) is going to save lives," said Lang.

i.larraneta@theday.com

Twitter: @larraneta