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Sen. Blumenthal Urges Passages Of Opioid Legislation

This is a picture of Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/
Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal

Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is calling on his colleagues to pass legislation intended to help combat the rise of heroin and opioid use.The Democrat took to the Senate floor Tuesday in support of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Blumenthal sponsored a provision that would allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants greater access to drug monitoring data.

“Although nurse practitioners and physician assistants wrote over 7 million opioid prescriptions in 2013, few states permit them to consult and submit prescribing data to these important state databases,” said Blumenthal.

The overall bill has bipartisan support and is intended to improve prescription drug monitoring, treat incarcerated people for addiction and increase the availability of overdose reversal drug naloxone.

Jim is WAMC’s Associate News Director and hosts WAMC's flagship news programs: Midday Magazine, Northeast Report and Northeast Report Late Edition. Email: jlevulis@wamc.org
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