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Ohio`s Lieutenant Governor Pushing for Opioid Reform

Justin Dennis

09/07/2016

Sept. 07--ASHTABULA -- The state's lieutenant governor Tuesday touted the state's efforts to increase access to anti-overdose drugs and push reforms to fight the opioid epidemic.

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor visited the Ashtabula area Tuesday, meeting with Molded Fiber Glass officials on behalf of the state's job creation Common Sense Initiative, and speaking with the Star Beacon about the prevalence of heroin in Ohio.

With more than 3,000 unintentional drug overdoses in the state last year -- as reported by the state health department -- and the recent passing of International Drug Overdose Awareness Day Aug. 31, Taylor said now is "a good time to be reminded to talk about the significance of the issue. It's an epidemic level in the state of Ohio."

Taylor is calling on the Ohio House of Representatives to pass a package of reforms relating to opioid abuse, which passed unanimously in the Senate.

One provision increases access to life-saving naloxone, or Narcan, which can quickly reverse an overdose, by putting it in "at-risk" areas like homeless shelters, halfway houses, drug treatment centers -- even schools.

"Unfortunately, we know that kids are starting at earlier ages to get involved with drugs," Taylor said.

Taylor said the state has already made "extraordinary efforts" to make Narcan more available to first responders, by about 8,000 doses according to figures from her office.

Another reform creates new oversight measures for certain opioid prescribers. One aim is to close what Taylor called an exemption "loophole" for independently practicing physicians, who can distribute addictive prescriptions on their own, and without the state pharmacy board's knowledge.

The Governor's Cabinet Opiate Action Team has been working to identify and close "pill mills" -- entities that over prescribe opioids, which allows them to hit the streets -- since 2011. Taylor said prescription opioids' availability contributes to the demand for heroin.

"(Opioids) interact on the same part of the brain as heroin. They're very, very similar, if not essentially the same drug," she said. "And they have the same capacity for addiction."

The reforms also seek to limit single prescription volumes to 90 pills, and new registration procedures for more than 20,000 pharmacy technicians, who aren't currently kept on record.

"We want to make sure there's uniform background checks," Taylor said. "Unfortunately, they are involved in some cases of opiates missing in pharmacies."

The reforms also bolster assistance to facilities that provide medication assisted treatments, through drugs like Suboxone or methadone.

"I definitely think that if we're looking for long-term health and success and sobriety for these people, we do need to look for a way to find treatment," she said.

The state administration's efforts are showing "promising results," said Taylor's press secretary Michael Duchesne.

About 81 million fewer opiates are dispensed today, and 1.4 million fewer pain pill prescriptions were written between 2012 and 2015. The practice of "doctor shopping," in which users rotate between different physicians to receive multiple prescriptions, is down more than 70 percent in the state.