In Washington today, U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and John McCain (R-AZ) announced a bipartisan legislation to take on opioid addiction. The new measure aims at limiting the supply of an initial opioid prescription for acute pain to seven days.
Many individuals become addicted to opioids after taking prescriptions for pain after a broken bone or tooth extraction.
“Too many lives have been destroyed, too many families have been torn apart, and too many communities all over New York are suffering because of this tragic epidemic. I am proud to join with Senator McCain in this urgent fight against the over-prescription of opioids, and I look forward to seeing it pass through the Senate as quickly as possible,” said Senator Gillibrand.
“We have a long way to go to end the scourge of drugs across our communities, but this legislation is an important step forward in preventing people from getting hooked on these deadly drugs,” said senator McCain.
Under current federal law, a medical professional must receive a license, renewed every three years, from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to prescribe a controlled substance. The new legislation would require medical professionals to certify they will not prescribe an opioid as an initial treatment for acute pain in an amount surpassing a seven-day supply, and may not provide a refill.
