By Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch, wire and staff reports
COLUMBUS – An epidemic of drug overdoses, which claimed the lives more than 3,000 Ohioans in 2015, has drawn the attention of national and state leaders.
President Donald Trump, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, state lawmakers and its top law enforcement official have all zeroed in on the crisis of opioid addiction and overdoses and its consequences.
The latest legislative move would further limit the number of painkillers that doctors prescribe. Kasich’s proposal, due to be unveiled Thursday, also limits opioid prescriptions. President Donald Trump announced a new commission Wednesday to battle the opioid epidemic nationwide. Last week Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced a $3.5 million program to help the growing number of children taken into state custody because of their parents’ addiction.
Under legislation introduced in the House and Senate, doctors in Ohio would be required to follow federal guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Legislators said that would limit prescriptions for acute pain to three days, or up to seven days if the doctor goes through training in alternatives and offers treatment options.
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The legislation also would offer an online version of the outpatient education that is part of the integrated-care requirement for addicts.
“The fight needs to continue beyond this bill, but I think this is a giant step in the right direction,” said Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville.
According to the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System, total doses of prescription pills dropped 20 percent between 2012 and 2016, from 793 million to 631 million. But supporters of the new legislation note that the number of pills per prescription is up slightly since 2010.
Ohio overdose deaths in 2015 totaled 3,050, the most in the nation and a record number for the state, and the state’s 2016 total is expected to be higher once the numbers are tallied.
“We are really frustrated,” said Sen. Bob Hackett, R-London, who is jointly sponsoring the Senate bill with Sen. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark. “We’ve done a lot of great work, but this is something where we haven’t been successful.”
The bill is titled Daniel’s Law, for Daniel Weidle, who died from an overdose on Dec. 26, 2015, after years of fighting opioid addiction.
Kasich, lawmakers and officials with Ohio health licensing boards have scheduled a Thursday news conference to discuss the new restrictions. The governor and state medical leaders last year announced guidelines meant to reduce the prescribing of painkillers for short-term pain.