Gov. Larry Hogan and Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford recently announced that they are putting out a new legislation that would hopefully curb the growing opioid crisis in Maryland. The new law named The Prescriber Limits Act would limit doctors to prescribing patients with opioid painkillers for more than seven days’ worth during a patient’s first consultation or visit. Patients who are undergoing cancer treatment and patients who are diagnosed with terminal illnesses are exempted from the new law.
The Distribution of Opioids Resulting in Death Act will be introducing a new felony charge that would carry a sentence of up to 30 years in prison for those who are convicted of selling opioids illegally or opioid analogs that result in user death. According to Rutherford, the would carry protections for those who are selling to support their addiction.
The Overdose Prevention Act authorizes the collection and review of non-fatal overdose data. The filling of a prescription for naloxone, a drug that can counteract the effects of opioid overdose, will be made easier for the people. Hogan and Rutherford have directed their focus on the problem of opioid addiction. This was announced at a press conference at Anne Arundel Medical Center.
An executive order will also be signed by the governor for the creation of an Opioid Operations Command Center. This is a virtual task force that is charged with organizing training and funding for anti-addiction teams as well as for the collection of data on use and abuse of opioids. Hogan stated that he did not fully appreciate the severity of the opioid epidemic until he began moving across Maryland in his gubernatorial campaign.
Hogan asked the people about their biggest problem in their communities in different part of the state. The people gave the same answer, that heroin was the biggest problem in their community. This was regardless of whether they were from urban, rural, wealthy or poor communities. Hogan and Rutherford acknowledged that the problem of the opioid epidemic is worsening in the state of Maryland as reported in an article by WBAL.
Hogan announced that $4 million of his budget for 2018 is now being directed to the treatment of heroin and opioid-related illnesses. He also signed an executive order for creating an anti-heroin center. Hogan is also pushing for the Prescriber Limits Act as this would limit the number of opioid painkillers doctors would be able to prescribe, in an effort to prevent addiction which often leads to heroin use as reported by WJLA.
