Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) signed a law on Wednesday designed to curb widespread dissemination of prescription painkillers and improve access to treatment for drug addiction, according to cleveland.com.
Gov. Kasich said the bill was the next step in his administration's efforts to curb opioid abuse in Ohio, which is one of the hardest hit states in the nation's ongoing opioid overdose epidemic. In 2015, Ohio ranked among the top five states in the nation with the highest rates of opioid overdose deaths.
Here are nine things to know about the new law.
1. The bill was among 27 other bills signed by the governor on Wednesday.
2. The law contains no new funding. This factor initially drew objections from Democrats, though the party voted in favor of the bill.
3. Facilities where Suboxone — a drug used to treat opioid addiction — is administered will now need to be staffed by 30 or more individuals licensed by the state to supply the drug.
4. The law allows for the establishment of for-profit methadone clinics and forgoes a prior rule that required facilities to hold two years of provider certification in Ohio before being designated as a methadone clinic.
5. It permits facilities that often come into contact with at-risk individuals like schools, halfway houses, homeless shelters and treatment centers to keep the opioid overdose antidote naloxone on-site.
6. The legislation revokes an exemption that previously allowed physicians, veterinarians, dentists and other healthcare professionals to distribute prescription painkillers to patients without state oversight.
7. The law reduces the amount of opioid pills that can be distributed in a single prescription to a 90-day supply and nullifies prescriptions not used after 30 days.
8. Civil immunity will be granted to individuals authorized to administer naloxone.
9. The law will take effect in 90 days.
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