A trio of bills have been introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators and Representatives, led by Senator Bryan Townsend, to help address opioid addiction in the First State. The first bill, SB45, adds a drug called U-47700, known by its street name “Pink,” to Schedule I of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Pink is a synthetic opioid that was discovered recently by law enforcement and public health officials. It was added by the FDA to Schedule I on an emergency basis for a 2 year period. This bill would add it to the Schedule I in Delaware on a permanent basis.
SB44 states that a prescriber of pain medication holding a controlled substance registration must be registered with the Prescription Monitoring Program and they must do so within 90 days of receiving the registration. I am not sure why the onus is on the prescriber here. Why not automatically enroll them into the program upon registration?
SB45 – AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.
SPONSORS: Townsend, Bentz, Hansen, Hocker, Lopez, Briggs King, Heffernan, Hudson, Keeley, Miro, Paradee, Williams
YES VOTES: SENATE: Bonini, Bushweller, Cloutier, Delcollo, Ennis, Hansen, Henry, Hocker, Lavelle, Lawson, Lopez, Marshall, McBride, McDowell, Pettyjohn, Poore, Richardson, Simpson, Sokola, Townsend. HOUSE: Everyone but Keeley, who was absent.
NO VOTES: SENATE: None. [Walsh was absent] HOUSE: None.
HISTORY: Senate passed 20-0-1. Passed House 40-0-1.
STATUS: Governor Carney to sign bill.
SB44 states that a prescriber of pain medication holding a controlled substance registration must be registered with the Prescription Monitoring Program and they must do so within 90 days of receiving the registration. I am not sure why the onus is on the prescriber here. Why not automatically enroll them into the program upon registration?
SB44 – AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.
SPONSORS: Townsend, Bentz, Hansen, Hocker, Lopez, Briggs King, Heffernan, Hudson, Keeley, Miro, Paradee, Williams
YES VOTES: SENATE: Bonini, Bushweller, Cloutier, Delcollo, Ennis, Hansen, Henry, Hocker, Lavelle, Lawson, Lopez, Marshall, McBride, McDowell, Pettyjohn, Poore, Richardson, Simpson, Sokola, Townsend
NO VOTES: SENATE: None. [Walsh was absent]
HISTORY: Senate passed 20-0-1. Released from committee.
STATUS: On House Ready List.
Finally, SB48 requires that any pharmacist who dispenses narloxone under an established set of circumstances is not subject to disciplinary or other adverse action under any professional licensing statute or criminal liability, or liable for damages related to injuries or death sustained in connection with administering the drug, unless it is established that the pharmacist caused the injuries or death wilfully, wantonly, or by gross negligence. Naloxone blocks or reverses the effects of opioid medication, including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness. Naloxone is used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency situation.
SB48 – AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO NALOXONE.
SPONSORS: Townsend, Bentz, Hansen, Hocker, Lopez, Briggs King, Heffernan, Hudson, Keeley, Miro, Paradee, Williams
YES VOTES: SENATE: Bonini, Bushweller, Cloutier, Delcollo, Ennis, Hansen, Henry, Hocker, Lavelle, Lawson, Lopez, Marshall, McBride, McDowell, Pettyjohn, Poore, Richardson, Simpson, Sokola, Townsend. HOUSE: Everyone but Hudson and J.Johnson, who were absent.
NO VOTES: SENATE: None. [Walsh was absent]. HOUSE: None.
HISTORY: Senate passed 20-0-1. Passed House 39-0-2.
STATUS: Waiting on Governor Carney to sign it.
This is a critical issue, especially with prescription opiates and opioids. Having seen first-hand how easily people with chronic pain can become dependent, and how lax doctors in this region at least are in terms of coordinating treatment and insuring limited, responsible access, I put down my libertarian credentials and say this needs to be done. Now.
I think the reason that the Prescription Registration places the onus on the physician has to do with different rules across State lines. I think there are limits to what Delaware can mandate for docs at Temple or Jefferson or Hopkins, and in many cases those docs don’t even know what State some of their prescriptions will be filled in. So by doing it this way, Delaware pharmacies could refuse to fill those prescriptions until the doc signs up and allows his/her record of scrips to be tracked. It could have been written with an automatic sign-up for Delaware-licensed physicians, but I’m betting that would have become way too complicated, and that local health authorities advised against it.
Lets be clear. Who brought on this opioid addition problem. BIG PHARMA! Back in the 90’s they sent sales rep’s to doctors office to inform doctors, “your patients no longer need to be in pain, we have prescriptions now that can stop it”. They never told the representatives, or the doctors these pills would be “addictive”. Big Pharma are the drug dealers sitting in office buildings who take no responsibility for what they have done to our citizens. Treatment for addicts is going to cost billions nationwide, where are the lawsuits forcing these drug dealers to pay for those treatment facilities?