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Synopsis As Introduced
Amends the Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency Act. Provides that the Director of the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse within the Department of Human Services may publish an annual report on statewide drug overdose trends, may establish a program to provide for the publication of drug overdose prevention, recognition, and response literature, may provide advice to State and local officials concerning drug overdose problems, and may award grants to create or support local drug overdose prevention, recognition, and response projects. Requires a health care professional prescribing an opioid antidote to a patient to ensure that the patient receives certain patient information; provides for immunity from disciplinary or other adverse administrative action; and provides for administration of an opioid antidote in an emergency. Requires the Director of the Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, in consultation with statewide organizations, to develop and disseminate to health care professionals, community-based organizations, substance abuse programs, and other organizations training materials in video, electronic, or other formats to facilitate the provision of the required patient information. Effective January 1, 2010.
I think it is great that this bill passed and I hope the Governor signs it to move it along. It will need to go to another governmental committee (I forget the name) where they flesh out the details and hopefully that will go well.
It will be good for everyone to be aware of statewide (and, I hope, regional) trends pertaining to drug overdose. I also hope that the reporting will include information on the nonfatal overdoses. It will be easier to target prevention and intervention based on real data.
In addition to that, making Narcan available in the community (with education and training in its use for emergencies) will undoubtedly save lives.
I look forward to the implementation of this new law and we can join some other states in these prevention efforts.
4 comments:
What other states have this and how are they using this information to implement into effective programs (treatment/prevention?)?
Also...a tip. If jewelers who buy silver/gold and pawnbrokers who do the same were required to follow consistent rules and regulations from town to town - and perhaps if these rules were actually enforced, then many of the young people would not be robbing houses and selling the merchandise for quick drug cash. There's a huge market in this, and some "jewelers" are cashing in on these kids' illnesses.
A friend of mine in Chicago (Chicago Recovery Alliance) has been distributing Narcan for some time with good results. A program in San Francisco (thedopeproject.org) has demonstrated lives saved. Other programs in New York, New Mexico, and Baltimore also sing the praises of increased access to Narcan for non-traditional distribution and use.
I forgot to mention: harmreduction.org as a resource as well
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