Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker says he does not expect any legal challenges to his proposed legislation to combat opioid abuse that would allow medical professionals to commit a person to treatment involuntarily.The legislation, announced by the Republican in October, would also limit first- time opioid prescriptions to a 72-hour supply with exceptions for emergency situations as well as chronic and hospice care patients.
“At this point, most of the folks in the healthcare community have reviewed the legislation, discussed it with us and come back to us and said that while they may have some tweaks around the margin they want to make, philosophically they think what we’re trying to do are the right types of things," Baker said during a stop in Great Barrington Tuesday.
The state’s district attorneys association and a number of local leaders have come out in support of the proposal. But, groups like the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and the state’s branch of the ACLU have expressed reservations.