Georgia lawmakers to hear opioid bills

During a key speech to kick off the legislative session, Georgia Republican Gov. Nathan Deal talked about an “epidemic” that’s ravaging Georgia’s communities: opioid addiction.

Addiction to opioids — drugs that include hydrocodone and oxycodone — starts for many with an injury, followed by a prescription that turns into a chemical dependency. Some people turn to another opioid: heroin.

Earlier this year, Deal temporarily legalized over-the-counter sales of naloxone, a drug that can reverse opioid overdoses. He asked the Legislature to make the change permanent.

He also called on the Legislature to beef up the state’s prescription drug monitoring program — a database where doctors can see if patient has already been prescribed opioids.

State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, plans to push for both of those things this year, she said earlier this month. She also has more legislative plans to cap off the work of the Opioid Abuse Senate Study Committee she chaired.

She wants to build up Georgia’s addiction treatment programs, as well as set up new regulations on methadone clinics. That synthetic opioid can help patients beat addiction, but she and others want to know if the clinics are helping patients taper off the drugs.

“The most important thing about those methadone clinics is outcomes-based information and right now they’re not accountable and they’re not transparent,” said Unterman.

This story was originally published January 14, 2017 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Georgia lawmakers to hear opioid bills."