HARTFORD, CT — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Tuesday night signed a bill that has, as a key component, reducing the maximum opioid drug prescription for minors from seven to five days.
It had passed unanimously through the Senate only hours before, and previously had passed unanimously through the House.
The legislation was introduced by Malloy at the beginning of session. He described it as a continuation of the work underway to combat the opioid crisis in the state.
“Opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse is a disease that is impacting nearly every community and people of every background,” Malloy said. “It is a complex crisis that does not have one root cause, nor does it have simple solution, but we need to do everything in our power to treat and prevent it.”
Besides lowering the amount of days for which a minor can receive opioid prescriptions, the bill also increases security on controlled substance prescriptions by requiring scheduled drugs to be prescribed only electronically, which officials believe will cut back on the potential for prescription forgeries.
Additionally, the bill requires increased data sharing between state agencies regarding opioid abuse and overdose deaths.
