Carpino Hails Passage of Legislation Combating Opioid Abuse

Photo: State Representative Christie Carpino (right) discusses the pending legislation with State Representative Prasad Srinivasan (left), who serves as the Ranking Member to the Public Health Committee

Hartford – State Representative Christie Carpino (Cromwell/Portland) hailed the passage of HB 7052: An Act Preventing Prescription Opioid Diversion and Abuse during Wednesday’s House Session.

“Abuse and misuse of opioids has caused far too many to lose their lives as a result of overdoses. So many families have been impacted by this crisis, we need to take a proactive approach and educate the general public about the dangers associated with opioids. Drug related tragedies do not discriminate and destroy families statewide,” explained Rep. Carpino, a co-sponsor of the bill.

The bill requires prescriptions for controlled substances to be electronically transmitted to a pharmacy. Electronic transmissions will decrease the possibility of unnecessary prescriptions. This minimizes the abundance of excess medication in the community. In addition, the measure limits the initial supply of opioid medication to 5 days.

In order to empower patients that wish to avoid opioids, the bill creates a process for patients to request that their physician not prescribe opioids to them for treatment. Most important, practitioners must now speak with patients about the use and risks of taking opioid medication.

Rep. Carpino said, “The bill provides that all patients will be given explicit instruction of proper use and be made aware of the risks before they take the first pill.”

The bill garnered unanimous support when it went to a vote in the Public Health Committee, of which Carpino is a member, and in the House of Representatives. It now awaits further action in the Senate, where it must be acted upon before Wednesday, June 7th, to become law.

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