Opioid Measures 032917
The governor and state lawmakers at taking action to fight opioid abuse in Iowa. Today, Governor Terry Branstad will formally announce the availability of a medication that reverses opioid overdoses. Naloxone will be available over the counter from pharmacists.
Yesterday, the Iowa house approved a bill that would require doctors to register with a new program when they prescribe controlled substances.
The Iowa Prescription Monitoring Program would help physicians keep track of patients that go “doctor shopping” for drugs.
Dubuque Democratic Representative Charles Isenhart said that the bill will help prevent the abuse of opioids that often leads to drugs like heroin.
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“So once it becomes difficult for a patient to obtain prescription pain medications through licit or illicit methods, they turn to herion, not to support an addition, but to control the pain, the symptoms of withdrawl they experience because of their addiction to the prescription medication.”
Isenhart said that in the last year there have been more than 130 deaths in Iowa where opioids were either wholly or partially to blame.
