Massachusetts prosecutors are throwing their support behindGovernor Charlie Baker's legislative plan to tackle opioid abuse.Massachusetts District Attorneys Association sent a letter of support for the proposals to the chairs of the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse.
Governor Baker proposes restricting patients to a three-day supply of painkillers the first time they are prescribed an opioid drug, or when they receive a prescription from a new doctor.
The Republican’s also proposed giving medical professionals the authority to commit a patient for substance abuse treatment if they pose a danger to themselves or others. Berkshire District Attorney and MDAA President-Elect David Capeless, a Democrat, has been outspoken about the need for changes in the medical community.
“These highly addictive drugs have done just what we should have expected,” Capeless said. “They effectively treated pain and they also created a whole new group of people who became desperate addicts who eventually turned to much cheaper heroin.”
The proposals have prompted concerns from physicians' groups and civil libertarians.
The state had an estimated 1,250 deaths from opioid overdoses in 2014, about triple the number from five years ago.
