Lawmakers move on opioid legislation
The Legislature this week adopted a bill that would add fentanyl to the list of drugs eligible for a trafficking charge, and a House committee will consider legislation to limit the number of pain pills available for prescription.
Senate Bill 1078 now sits at the governor’s desk waiting for her approval. It’s the first piece of legislation recommended by the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse to reach this far in the legislative process.
Attorney General Mike Hunter created the commission to develop policy recommendations to tackle Oklahoma’s opioid abuse epidemic.
The bill would add fentanyl, a powerful opioid, to the list of drugs eligible for a felony trafficking charge, along with marijuana, cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and others.
“In 2016, fentanyl accounted for more than 20,000 deaths in the United States, overtaking overdose deaths attributed to heroin, cocaine, meth and methadone,” Hunter said. “Criminalizing fentanyl (trafficking) provides our law enforcement partners with a vital tool to
and charge drug traffickers, who are looking to sell fentanyl and its equivalent to Oklahomans.”
Senate Bill 1078 was given final approval by the Oklahoma House on Monday, where it passed unanimously.
Another bill recommended by the commission is Senate Bill 1446, which is scheduled for
a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The bill would place a limit on the number of pain pills that a doctor can prescribe.
Patients would only be able to receive a week’s worth of opioid pain
medication during their first visit, in most cases. The legislation also puts more stringent limits on doctors writing a second weekly prescription for opioid-based pain medications. To write a second prescription, doctors
would have to determine it’s necessary, and there is no risk of abuse, addiction or diversion to another person.
Limiting the number of pain pills available to patients is cited as one of the most important
policy ideas to fight the opioid epidemic.
If Senate Bill 1446 passes the Judiciary Committee, it would then move to the full House for final consideration. So far, it’s been unanimously supported.