The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse strongly supports the bi-partisan Opioid Patients’ Right to Know Act introduced by U.S. Representative David Trone (D-MD), along with Representatives. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM), and David McKinley (R-WV), to help prevent opioid addiction across the country.
The Opioid Patients’ Right to Know Act would create a grant program to incentivize states to require prescribers to discuss the addictive qualities of the drugs with patients and inform them of alternative treatment options before prescribing them for acute pain.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health care providers dispensed over 153 million opioid prescriptions in 2019, and a recent study estimates that 1% to 4% of individuals who take prescription opioids develop opioid use disorder, putting their lives at risk.
“We appreciate the efforts of Congressman Trone and the bi-partisan coalition in Congress. Their continued leadership on the opioid use crisis is sorely needed during these difficult times,” said Neil Campbell, Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“Addiction is on the rise, made even worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, and we need to take steps to prevent it from happening in the first place, this bill will help ensure that patients have the knowledge to make informed decisions about what treatment option is right for them,” said Campbell.
“The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse calls on the Georgia Congressional Delegation to support the Opioid Patients’ Right to Know Act in a unanimous bi-partisan effort. Too many lives have been cut short by the addiction crisis, which continues to wreak havoc on families and communities across Georgia and throughout the country,” said Jeff Breedlove, Chief of Policy for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
