Baker Calls For Limits On Prescription Painkillers Amid Opioid Crisis
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gov. Charlie Baker introduced new legislation on Thursday to battle the state's opioid crisis.
In an effort to prevent addiction, part of the governor's proposal calls on doctors to limit the amount of medication they can prescribe to patients.
"The days of people walking out of a dentist's office or doctor's office with 30 or 60 or 90 days worth of this pain medication need to come to an end," Baker said.
"This has got to stop". Gov Baker proposing law to limit # of pain pills docs can give patients. #wbz pic.twitter.com/erACjfgOCE
— Christina Hager (@HagerWBZ) October 15, 2015
Under his plan, patients would be limited to a 72-hour supply of those powerful painkillers.
Click To Learn More About Preventing Opioid Addiction
The governor also wants the authority to involuntarily commit someone for treatment if they pose a danger to themselves or others. He's proposing a law that would allow medical professionals to force patients to stay in treatment for 72 hours without a court order.
School coaches, parents of athletes, and athletic trainers would all be required to review the dangers of opioids.
A former opioid addict and marine told WBZ-TV's Christina Hager about his experiences.
"They feed you pain medicine, and a lot of it," he said. "I'd rather deal with the pain every day than have something control me and live my life for me."
There have been more 1,000 overdose deaths in Massachusetts since 2014.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports: