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[Sho_Nuff82]

http://www.usnews.com/news/new-jers...pioid-bill-to-get-vote-in-new-jersey-assembly

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Just a day after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House on drug addiction, Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Wednesday aimed at curbing the state's opioid addiction epidemic, taking action just minutes after the Democrat-led Assembly approved the measure.

The legislation curbs initial opioid prescriptions to a five-day supply, making New Jersey's the most stringent limit in the country, according to the Republican governor. It also mandates state-regulated health insurers cover inpatient and outpatient treatment for drug addiction.

The prescription drug limit would not apply to cancer and chronic pain patients and for end-of-life care. The legislation also calls for continuing education for professionals who prescribe drugs.

Nearly 1,600 people died from opioids in 2015 in New Jersey.

Earlier this month, Christie declared opioid drugs to be a public health crisis. An executive order he issued also created an eight-member task force to develop a comprehensive strategy.

He has gotten broad support from lawmakers, particularly from Democrats who control the Legislature. The measure that passed Wednesday moved through the Legislature in a matter of weeks.

In the wake of the last few week's shenanigans, here's a bipartisan bill that passed with overwhelming support from both sides. Could be a good sign for America finally turning the corner on drug addiction legislation, and it could be a huge life-saver for states particularly afflicted like Ohio.

 

[Jacce]

New Jersey is not really a good example of the country getting better/more bipartisan and pass good legislation at all. New Jersey Republicans are typically not wacko tea partiers like most of the country's GOP.

You'll never get the Paul Ryan Congress to do this.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

 

[FairyD]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

It's a major problem.

 

[gcubed]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

yes

 

[The Albatross]

Charlie Baker, in Massachusetts, passed a similar law from MA Legislation about a year ago and it has dramatically helped slow the rate of opioid addiction growth in the state and surrounding states.

Part of the bill was on limiting supply, but other parts were on setting up a state-wide database of doctors who prescribe opioids and patients who request them, so that a pharmacist can quickly review a patients prescription. Another part requires return visits and urine/blood tests for patients on specific opioids. The blood/urine tests are to ensure that the person being prescribed the drug is actually taking it, and not selling it, and it also tests for other drugs in the body which can indicate that they're using the drug on top of heroin. There's no teeth to this portion of the bill (e.g., no patient goes to jail or gets a fine), but it's important when writing a new prescription that the doctor see if the patient is actually using the drug as prescribed.

The early results of the MA bill have been successful. Besides things like $2m on treatment facilities, millions of searches in the database, the real result so far is that ppioid prescriptions are down 15% year over year. It's the first time in nearly 20 years that prescriptions for opioids have gone down year over year, and it's a sizeable amount. The bill has only been active for about 9 months, and after a year, more information will come out.

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

Yes, opoiod addition usually begins with a legal prescription or the drugs are accessed via someone with a legal prescription, and bills like these have helped in other states. Four out of Five heroin users get addicted first through opioids prescribed by doctors.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

Opioid deaths in Ohio in 2015 were 2590, it has nearly as many deaths annually as the entire state of California. And the numbers are going up.

New Jersey is not really a good example of the country getting better/more bipartisan and pass good legislation at all. New Jersey Republicans are typically not wacko tea partiers like most of the country's GOP.

You'll never get the Paul Ryan Congress to do this.

I think, like marijuana legalization or gay marriage, seeing the (more) liberal states experiment with it first will open doors for traditionally conservative states to experiment with new legislation once they realize the world isn't crumbling around them.

 

[captive]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

yes. its a huge problem. People get hooked then turn to black market pills, then when they cant afford black market they go to street heroin.

this is a great start, i especially like the part where it requires treatment, instead of punishment.

 

[Earthbound64]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

That's what I'm wondering (although I guess it's been kind of answered during the time I was writing this post). I've had to be on opiods a couple of different times (Oxycontin, Percocet, Tylenol with Codeine) (obviously not all at the same time, and for different reasons). Thinking about the possibility of only having a 5-day prescription at first would have made things rather problematic in terms of the logistics of getting it re-prescribed and refilled.

 

[SodiumBenzoate]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

Yes, yes yes yes.

 

[Skellig Gra]

This seems like a good step in the right direction. Opiod addiction has hit my family after being over prescribed pain killers.

 

[Glix]

At first glance this is great. This stuff is over prescribed like crazy, and is one of the biggest reasons for the heroin issues. Most pols are afraid to touch it because they are afraid of big pharma.

 

[fredrancour]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

yes this is a massive driving factor. doctors overprescribe then people turn to cheaper opiates later.

 

[WedgeX]

Great. Opioids are pushed all too readily for pain control when doctors could take time to prescribe or work with patients towards other solutions.

 

[Duxxy3]

Charlie Baker, in Massachusetts, passed a similar law from MA Legislation about a year ago and it has dramatically helped slow the rate of opioid addiction growth in the state and surrounding states.

Part of the bill was on limiting supply, but other parts were on setting up a state-wide database of doctors who prescribe opioids and patients who request them, so that a pharmacist can quickly review a patients prescription. Another part requires return visits and urine/blood tests for patients on specific opioids.

To answer some of the Q's: Yes, opioid addiction typically begins with a legal prescription of the drug, or obtaining the drug from a legal prescription.

The other side of the coin is that now we have a heroin epidemic (which is often with fentanyl now).

edit: I'm not saying I'm against that legislation, but it does have repercussions. NJ will likely see the same thing happen.

 

[Matty77]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

That's exactly how the crisis came to be. Doctors overprescribing for kickbacks and addiction skyrocketing, and then when they finally had to admit to it and start tightening up procedures people have moved to either getting them illegally to using heroin. I have seen multiple doctors in my area (Massachusetts, one of the heavy hit areas) lose at the least the ability to prescribe narcoticts, at most the ability to practice.

One doctor that got stung was so notorious that one day a month was "prescription day" and the cops used to sit at all the pharmacys it's how they tracked down the people that were getting them filled than selling.

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

Its bad, at least in some areas. Can't go a month here without an overdose death and usually it's more. Lost a lot of friends. Crisis is not an exaggeration and it's called that and treated as national emergency last I checked.

Around here you can buy narcan OTC and people that don't even have anything to do with drugs carry it just in case it's such a problem.

Edit: The Albatross's post is really good and comprehensive actually.

 

[Knuckle Sandwich]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

Yeah.

My cousin and sister-in-law are both hooked on that shit because doctors gave it to them.

 

[KHarvey16]

If I remember right this is one area Christie is particularly good about and he attributed that to his experiences with a friend who fought addiction. I think he gave a pretty emotional speech last year about it.

 

[zer0blivion]

Drug addiction needs to be treated as a public health issue, not a criminal one. The cynic in me thinks this is only happening because it's effecting more and more suburban and rural white people. Regardless of the motivations though, this seems like a step in the right direction.

 

[RumblingRosco]

yes

Yes, opoiod addition usually begins with a legal prescription or the drugs are accessed via someone with a legal prescription, and bills like these have helped in other states. Four out of Five heroin users get addicted first through opioids prescribed by doctors.

yes. its a huge problem. People get hooked then turn to black market pills, then when they cant afford black market they go to street heroin.

this is a great start, i especially like the part where it requires treatment, instead of punishment.

That's what I'm wondering (although I guess it's been kind of answered during the time I was writing this post). I've had to be on opiods a couple of different times (Oxycontin, Percocet, Tylenol with Codeine) (obviously not all at the same time, and for different reasons). Thinking about the possibility of only having a 5-day prescription at first would have made things rather problematic in terms of the logistics of getting it re-prescribed and refilled.

Yes, yes yes yes.

yes this is a massive driving factor. doctors overprescribe then people turn to cheaper opiates later.

That's exactly how the crisis came to be. Doctors overprescribing for kickbacks and addiction skyrocketing, and then when they finally had to admit to it and start tightening up procedures people have moved to either getting them illegally to using heroin. I have seen multiple doctors in my area (Massachusetts, one of the heavy hit areas) lose at the least the ability to prescribe narcoticts, at most the ability to practice.

One doctor that got stung was so notorious that one day a month was "prescription day" and the cops used to sit at all the pharmacys it's how they tracked down the people that were getting them filled than selling.

Its bad, at least in some areas. Can't go a month here without an overdose death and usually it's more. Lost a lot of friends. Crisis is not an exaggeration and it's called that and treated as national emergency last I checked.

Around here you can buy narcan OTC and people that don't even have anything to do with drugs carry it just in case it's such a problem.

Edit: The Albatross's post is really good and comprehensive actually.

Yeah.

My cousin and sister-in-law are both hooked on that shit because doctors gave it to them.

OK I'm gonna trust you all on this one.

 

[Earthbound64]

The cynic in me thinks this is only happening because it's effecting more and more suburban and rural white people..

It doesn't need to be the cynical you - it's quite often the reality.

OK I'm gonna trust you all on this one.

To be fair, I never got addicted to any of them, and came off of them just find. But I guess going from the other responses, that's not as common.

 

[dave is ok]

This helps the gateway of legally prescribed opiods leading to heroin I guess, but until something is done about the fentanyl people will continue to die.

 

[The Albatross]

I honestly think people who are trying to take a middle road on this, or find some negatives, or "find unintended consequences" are only doing so because Chris Christie is a Republican. If you're coming here to "be cautious about this legislation" or something, just pretend that the headline is "Elizabeth Warren suggests opioid legislation" or "Democratic Lawmakers in Massachusetts Pass Opioid Bill" and then reply. (FWIW, the Christie bill seems very similar to the bill passed by the Massachusetts House in 2016, which has so far been a success; Christie was one of the 46 governors to sign MA Gov Charlie Baker's governors pledge to tackle the opioid crisis).

Or if you want to come in and be against this or "cautious" of it, change the headline in your head to "New Jersey Democrats Pass Opioid Bill," and then see how your comment changes.

The other side of the coin is that now we have a heroin epidemic (which is often with fentanyl now).

edit: I'm not saying I'm against that legislation, but it does have repercussions. NJ will likely see the same thing happen.

That's not the other side of the coin. The Heroin epidemic is directly caused by over-prescription of opioids, as heroin is an opiate. In Massachusetts, the first state that passed opioid-abuse legislation, 4/5 heroin addicts started using heroin because of being legally prescribed opioids.

Cutting down on the over-prescription of opioids will directly reduce the number of heroin addictions. Also, fentanyl is available because of opioid presription abuse. Careless doctors over-prescribe fentanyl and don't follow up with patients if they're taking the drug, and those patients sell fentanyl which is then used to cut heroin to make cheap, dangerous heroin more affective.

This helps the gateway of legally prescribed opiods leading to heroin I guess, but until something is done about the fentanyl people will continue to die.

I'd imagine that fentanyl would be a key part of any opioid legislation because fentanyl is an opiate.

 

[DopeToast]

It's so bad here in Dayton, Ohio, right now. It's the main news story most of the time other than Trump. Happy to see some things being done somewhere, hope it grows.

 

[Sub_Level]

I hope Trump actually does listen to what his food runner is doing and perhaps come up with a national solution.

 

[Kill3r7]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

I keep reading articles about how it is the modern gateway drug which is leading to a spike in heroin use.

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publicati.../how-heroin-linked-to-prescription-drug-abuse

Harmful health consequences resulting from the abuse of opioid medications that are prescribed for the treatment of pain, such as Oxycontin®, Vicodin®, and Demerol®, have dramatically increased in recent years. For example, unintentional poisoning deaths from prescription opioids quadrupled from 1999 to 2010 and now outnumber those from heroin and cocaine combined.20 People often assume prescription pain relievers are safer than illicit drugs because they are medically prescribed; however, when these drugs are taken for reasons or in ways or amounts not intended by a doctor, or taken by someone other than the person for whom they are prescribed, they can result in severe adverse health effects including addiction, overdose, and death, especially when combined with other drugs or alcohol. Research now suggests that abuse of these medications may actually open the door to heroin use. Nearly half of young people who inject heroin surveyed in three recent studies reported abusing prescription opioids before starting to use heroin. Some individuals reported switching to heroin because it is cheaper and easier to obtain than prescription opioids

 

[captive]

OK I'm gonna trust you all on this one.

if you're into this kind of thing Drugs Inc by National Geographic is actually pretty fantastic at providing an all around view of drugs.

 

[NervousXtian]

It's a good thing. 5 days is enough for almost any thing you need to be taking pain pills for... and we need to start looking at ways to deal with chronic pain that aren't basically dooming them to a life of opioid addiction.

The side part is it can be hard to get vicodin for short term pain these days as doctors are getting increasingly scared to prescribe it.. if they just wrote shorter scripts it'd solve that.

I mean I broke a damn finger, it hurt like hell.. doctor said take Advil... well what the fuck do you think I took before I came here and didn't do a damn thing a-hole.

 

[The Albatross]

It's a good thing. 5 days is enough for almost any thing you need to be taking pain pills for... and we need to start looking at ways to deal with chronic pain that aren't basically dooming them to a life of opioid addiction.

The side part is it can be hard to get vicodin for short term pain these days as doctors are getting increasingly scared to prescribe it.. if they just wrote shorter scripts it'd solve that.

I mean I broke a damn finger, it hurt like hell.. doctor said take Advil... well what the fuck do you think I took before I came here and didn't do a damn thing a-hole.

This is exactly what your doctor should have done, or given you a prescription for a non-narcotic pain medicine like neproxin. You don't need an opiate for a broken finger.

Also consider that you coming in with a broken finger and telling him that it hurts and Aleve does nothing is probably the 30th person that week to come in with some ailment saying that pain medicine doesn't work, with the intention of trying to get opiates.

 

[Earthbound64]

It's a good thing. 5 days is enough for almost any thing you need to be taking pain pills for... and we need to start looking at ways to deal with chronic pain that aren't basically dooming them to a life of opioid addiction.

The side part is it can be hard to get vicodin for short term pain these days as doctors are getting increasingly scared to prescribe it.. if they just wrote shorter scripts it'd solve that.

I mean I broke a damn finger, it hurt like hell.. doctor said take Advil... well what the fuck do you think I took before I came here and didn't do a damn thing a-hole.

One of my main problems is that I can't take Advil due to other medical issues. And when I got prescribed Percocet, Tylenol wasn't doing a thing, hence the prescription. It was during a period when I was waiting for Medicaid to approve work on a tooth, and I had developed an abscess - which, needless to say, was extremely painful.

 

[Jacce]

I think, like marijuana legalization or gay marriage, seeing the (more) liberal states experiment with it first will open doors for traditionally conservative states to experiment with new legislation once they realize the world isn't crumbling around them.

That isn't how it worked with gay marriage at all....virtually every red state that had it on the ballot banned it. If the courts didn't step in pretty much every single red state would still have gay marriage being illegal to this day.

Blue states doing stuff has had no real strong history of inspiring red states to act on stuff like this. Red states need it forced on them by the courts. Republicans have NO history of learning their lesson on issues like this. Hell, congressional Republicans still want to roll back Civil Rights reform from the 1960's to this day.

 

[metalslimer]

It's annoying that they force you to go back to the doctor to get pain medication which costs more money to see the doctor. Some people actually do need pain meds. There should be a restriction only for certain reasons

One of the bad side effects of the figot against addiction is that it will hurt people in actual pain

 

[Earthbound64]

It's annoying that they force you to go back to the doctor to get pain medication which costs more money to see the doctor. Some people actually do need pain meds. There should be a restriction only for certain reasons

That was my issue. Especially for the first time - I was living 3 hours away from the hospital the prescribed them, and couldn't drive.
(I didn't even end up using the full 30-day supply they gave me, I think I used it for like 2 weeks and then flushed the rest. But 5 days wouldn't have been enough)

 

[SPEA]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

It's very very bad.

 

[ugaboga232]

Opioid addiction happens because we are wired to be addicted to opiates (and other mu opioid receptor agonists). Doctors have sadly played a large role in this due to the urge to make all your patients feel good and happy. But tolerance and addiction set in to a subset of these patients.

This legislation has good intentions (stop giving people 30 oxy or whatever for a minor operation) but is still just trying to fix the symptoms of a greater, underlying problem of what drives people to addiction rather than just use (a lot of people never get addicted or can live just fine on any drug). The elephant in the room is what happens when people make a non tolerance inducing/non respiratory depressing opiate (they already have one that is partway there)?

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

This obviously comes off as more of a liberal move, which is why it's sad that for the right to see this Chris Christie had to have one of his best friends from law school have his life torn apart and commit suicide. It's amazing what personal experience can open people's eyes up to.

I've had friends opiod addiction transition into heroin and die. Some of my best friends have no ability to keep a job or have a future because of the addiction that started on opioids, most of which was brought on from legal prescription from doctors as teenagers.

Fuck this epidemic.

 

[nynt9]

This video might be useful for this thread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pdPrQFjo2o

 

[CDV13]

Yea, here in Ohio it's like all the deaths you hear about... It's wild.

 

[grumble]

This is a brilliant piece of legislation, and one I fully support. This will also be popular in many rural communities. The democrats were idiots not to do the same.

 

[SPEA]

This obviously comes off as more of a liberal move, which is why it's sad that for the right to see this Chris Christie had to have one of his best friends from law school have his life torn apart and commit suicide. It's amazing what personal experience can open people's eyes up to.

I've had friends opiod addiction transition into heroin and die. Some of my best friends have no ability to keep a job or have a future because of the addiction that started on opioids, most of which was brought on from legal prescription from doctors as teenagers.

Fuck this epidemic.

I know the feeling. My cousin "hurt" his back some years back. Flash forward to now and he's a full on addict who can barely provide for himself. Lost his wife because of it and is about to lose his kid. This is a big problem folks. If you talk to anyone now, the odds are they know someone who is effected by the Opiate epidemic.

 

[Earthbound64]

This obviously comes off as more of a liberal move, which is why it's sad that for the right to see this Chris Christie had to have one of his best friends from law school have his life torn apart and commit suicide. It's amazing what personal experience can open people's eyes up to.

This is, unfortunately, true of many things.
"Easy" to ignore, until it directly impacts someone you/they know.

 

[AndyD]

How bad is the opioid addiction going on right now? I keep hearing stories of how it's pretty bad. When compared to other decades such as the 70s and 80s is it worse?

This is the only thing I could find that goes to the 70s.

https://addictionandrecoverynews.wordpress.com/2015/11/30/history-maintenance-overdose-and-policy/

And this is the past 15 years:

http://drugabuse.com/library/oxycodone-abuse/

Clearly all time high.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

One of my co-workers had a boyfriend who died due to an opioid addiction that turned into a heroin addiction.

It is a serious problem, and I'm glad that there are lawmakers willing to take steps to curb it.

 

[BobTheFork]

One of my co-workers had a boyfriend who died due to an opioid addiction that turned into a heroin addiction.

It is a serious problem, and I'm glad that there are lawmakers willing to take steps to curb it.

I know 4 different people that this happened too. One of them died and the other 3 eventually got help.

I've heard the words 'They switched from Oxycontin to heroin because it's cheaper' too damned often in my life.

 

[kirblar]

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

I got physical withdrawals from just 2 and a half weeks of percocet after surgery. Good god that sucked.

 

[Cipherr]

I got physical withdrawals from just 2 and a half weeks of percocet after surgery. Good god that sucked.

Yeah there was a thread on getting off of these prescriptions a few weeks back with stories like this that scared me shitless. Ive personally had percocet a couple times after kidney stones, but thankfully never had any problems when they ran out or anything. If it happens again I'll be asking for something weaker or seeing if ibuprofen can do the trick instead though, just in case.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Glad to see this go through, and good for Christie for supporting it.

I had minor outpatient surgery in November. The typical time to be on major painkillers afterward was 4-5 days. The surgeon issues a prescription for 30 days on percocet. I protested and asked for one week or less, but was told "that's what he always does". The pharmacy wouldn't let us get a partial prescription either, so now we have a 3 week supply sitting on our shelf that I don't know what to do with.

It's the second time in a year I had something like that happen. It's given out like candy.

Does illegal opioid use generally stem from people gaining an addiction while being legally prescribed opiods? I mean, this legislation sounds beneficial overall, but I'm not entirely sure I see how this will resolve the issue.

Yes, that is what is behind the epidemic.

I got physical withdrawals from just 2 and a half weeks of percocet after surgery. Good god that sucked.

Even less than a week required a fair bit of willpower. That must have been brutal.

 

[Ambient80]

It's annoying that they force you to go back to the doctor to get pain medication which costs more money to see the doctor. Some people actually do need pain meds. There should be a restriction only for certain reasons

One of the bad side effects of the figot against addiction is that it will hurt people in actual pain

Speaking as a physician, if you give any wiggle room, there are people (docs and patients) who will do anything they can to get around a rule. A hardstop, across the board rule is the best way to fix that.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Yeah there was a thread on getting off of these prescriptions a few weeks back with stories like this that scared me shitless. Ive personally had percocet a couple times after kidney stones, but thankfully never had any problems when they ran out or anything. If it happens again I'll be asking for something weaker or seeing if ibuprofen can do the trick instead though, just in case.

Damn. I forgot what I took for my kidney stone, but it had to be seriously strong stuff.
When my prescription ran out, the pain was unfathomable. I couldn't even function.