Florida lawmakers are looking to put a limit on opioid prescription users in acute pain, under a plan that got its first approval from a Senate panel Tuesday.
The legislation, which is meant to help fight the state’s opioid epidemic, is designed to prevent excess medication from entering the black market.
Under the bill, physicians could prescribe only a three-day supply of opiate-based painkillers. Exceptions include cases where they believe a longer supply is medically necessary and there are no alternative treatments; those would qualify for a seven-day prescription.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, says many heroin users initially used legal drugs.
“Opioids are killing 16 people per day in Florida,” said Benacquisto. “Many of those users’ journey of addiction started with prescription medication.”
The bill also includes $42.6 million to fight the opioid crisis. Of that amount, $15.7 million would go to purchases of drugs used to treat opioid addiction, such as methadone and naltrexone.
The bill still has two more committee hearings in the Senate and two in the House before it can get to a vote.