Posted on April 26, 2016
HARTFORD- In an effort to combat the growing opioid epidemic, State Representatives Christopher Davis (R-57), Tim Ackert (R-8), Sam Belsito (R-53), and Bill Aman (R-14) voted in favor of bi-partisan legislation aimed at reducing addictions to opioid medications and heroin.
“We are starting to address the opioid epidemic, but more work still needs to be done to prevent another family from having to bury a loved one,” added Rep. Ackert. “I will continue to advocate for policies that help eliminate this growing crisis.”
“Nearly everyone in our state knows of someone who has suffered a loss due to an overdose from heroin and other opioids,” said Rep. Davis. “Usually a person gets addicted to medication prescribed to them to help alleviate pain or steals a friend’s or family member’s excess medication. Today’s legislation will help reduce the possibility of someone abusing opioid medication, in hopes of helping prevent the heroin and opioid tragedies that occur too often across our region.”
“This piece of legislation will help prevent opioid abuse and help save lives from this disease. Yet, we need to make sure people who are in jail for selling this deadly narcotic serve out their time,” said Rep. Belsito. “Moving forward we need to put in place heavy penalties on those who sell opioid medication or heroin illegally.”
“Over-supplying someone opioids leads to an excess supply sitting around the house, and this could create a potential problem down the road if these dangerous drugs get into the wrong person’s hands,” Rep. Aman said. “Limiting opioid prescriptions is a common-sense solution to help end this growing epidemic.”
The legislation that was approved yesterday, House Bill 5053, An Act Increasing Access to Overdose Reversal Drugs, will help address the opioid epidemic running rampant through the state by:
In addition, the bill limits the prescribing of opioid drugs by:
Last year, 723 people died as a result of a drug overdose which is double the amount from 2012. Of this amount, 415 were related to heroin, which represents a 27 percent increase from 2014.
The bill now moves to the State Senate for final legislative approval.
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