September 30, 2016

Buena to Vote on Opioid Resolution

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The Buena Vista Township council is set to vote Monday on a resolution to support a bill in the state legislature that would prohibit doctors from prescribing more than seven-days’ worth of opioid painkillers the first time they prescribe the drug to a patient.

Senate bill S-2035, introduced in April, is sponsored by Shirley Turner, Robert Gordon and Jennifer Beck. It requires that a medical practitioner “shall not issue an initial prescription for an opioid drug…in a quantity exceeding a seven-day supply.”

Crazy to think, but being prescribed a month’s worth of dangerous narcotics is not an uncommon problem!

You can track the bill in Trenton here. You may not be surprised to learn that there are entities lobbying for the bill – most notably, a New Jersey group called ‘Prevent Opiate Abuse’ – while the New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants and the Medical Society of New Jersey are opposing the bill. Lobbying details are here.

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