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States Come Together Over Opiates

(Fall 2014) Heroin and how best to rid the nation of it is on the minds of state governors, legislatures and law enforcement throughout the U.S. New heroin-related bills have been introduced in at least 18 states in attempts to bring this crisis to a halt.

  • Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick declared a public health crisis in his state after deaths from heroin and other opioids skyrocketed by more than 90% since 2002. The state is putting $10 million toward providing non-violent drug offenders with treatment and increasing funding to the state’s drug treatment system by another $20 million.
  • In response to Ohio’s heroin epidemic, Governor John Kasich plans to expand access to treatment by enrolling his state in a Medicaid expansion plan under the Affordable Care Act, despite political consequences.
  • Governor Schumlin (Vermont) is joining forces with four other New England state Governors in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts in an agreement to battle heroin and prescription drug abuse. As part of the plan to work together, the states will share data on prescription painkillers to combat doctor shopping and formulate agreements with state Medicaid programs to expand access and allow low-income patients in desperate need of addiction treatment to turn to other New England states for help. The New England group also plans to collaborate with Maine and reach out to New York and Canada. The states will partner with Brandeis University’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Center of Excellence and focus on tracking prescription drugs that often lead to heroin abuse – as Brandeis researchers have found that areas with high levels of prescription drug abuse tend to have increased levels of heroin abuse three years later.
  • Meanwhile, the New Jersey Prescription Monitoring Program (NJPMP) has teamed up with Connecticut’s Prescription Monitoring Program to take the fight against prescription drug abuse and diversion across state lines. Through this partnership, healthcare providers and pharmacists will be able to more easily identify those who are crossing state lines to “doctor shop.” New Jersey is looking to partner with Delaware for mutual data-sharing among other states to create a regional prescription monitoring program network.

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