“Let us, here in Pennsylvania, lead the nation in fighting this crisis.”
The opioid epidemic is taking the lives of 3,500 Pennsylvanians each year — that’s equal to the populations of of Parkesburg, Freeland, or Mifflinburg. Yesterday, Governor Tom Wolf addressed a joint session of the State Legislature — the first since 2001 — to work with Democrats and Republicans to work on solutions to the opioid epidemic.
Governor Wolf and his administration have already worked with the State Legislature to provide more than $20 million in treatment funding, make naloxone available to Pennsylvanians, and redesign the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Still, there is more to be done.
“It is up to us to tackle the opioid crisis and give Pennsylvania the prosperous, healthy, and safe future we know it deserves,” said Governor Wolf as he urged the legislature to pass pieces of legislation to fight the opioid epidemic.
Read and watch coverage of yesterday’s address:
CBS Philly: ‘Let Us Lead The Nation’: Wolf Addresses Joint Session On PA Opioid Crisis
Governor Wolf is calling on lawmakers to take a series of actions, including limiting the amount of opioids a patient can receive at emergency rooms to a seven day supply without refills. “And we should put the same restriction in place for minors no matter where they get a prescription. We’ve all heard too many horror stories about high school athletes whose futures are robbed by addiction that begins with prescription pain killers.”
WTAE: ‘Every day, we lose 10 Pennsylvanians:’ Wolf urges fast action on addiction bills
Allentown Morning Call: Gov. Tom Wolf urges more action on opioids
The number of Pennsylvanians who died from opioid overdoses rose 23 percent to 3,383 between 2014 and 2015. Some bills have become law, including a new, albeit limited, database that attempts to track of doctors’ prescription-writing habits. Another law allows police and first responders to carry medicine to inject life back into overdose victims. Other bills are in the pipeline. Time is running out to act. The Legislature has fewer fall session days than normally because of time off ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Wolf urges Pa. lawmakers to tackle abuse of opioid drugs
Wolf urged lawmakers to approve measures that would:
• Require physicians to check the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program every time they prescribe opioids and other controlled substances, not just the first time they prescribe to a patient or when they believe someone may be addicted. He also wants pharmacists to enter data into the system within 24 hours of filling a prescription.
• Improve the training doctors receive in medical school and continuing-education classes on prescribing opioids and managing pain.
• Limit prescription painkillers given at emergency rooms or to minors to a seven-day supply with no refills.
WBRE/WYOU: Governor calls on lawmakers to take action on opioid epidemic
WITF: In joint session, Wolf renews calls for opioid legislation
Afterward, senators repeatedly pledged to make progress in the dwindling days before the end of session. Details on which specific proposals would be addressed, however, were scarce. Republican Senator Gene Yaw of Bradford County has sponsored several pieces of opioid legislation. He said the legislature’s influence on the epidemic is limited. “I will feel very fortunate if we can make a difference in this problem in ten years,” he said. “It is not going to be an overnight solution by any stretch of the imagination.”
For more, read the text of Governor Wolf’s address here.