Gideon’s measure advances

FREEPORT

Assistant House Majority Leader and Freeport Rep. Sara Gideon’s proposed measure to make the overdose reversal drug naloxone available without a prescription earned support from the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday.

The vote was 8-2, according to a press release issued by Gideon.

“We are experiencing a public health crisis in our state, which is taking lives at a tragic, alarming and growing rate,” said Gideon, the bill’s sponsor. “Considering what is at stake, we should take any opportunity to counteract the deadly impacts of addiction while we work to put more and better prevention, treatment and enforcement strategies in place. Providing naloxone over the counter is one such opportunity.”

CVS pharmacies reached out to Gideon, D-Freeport, about sponsoring the legislation after U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, recently wrote to the company urging it to increase access to naloxone by providing the antidote over-the-counter in Maine as it already does in 15 other states. State law does not currently allow the practice, but Gideon’s measure seeks to change that.

Gideon’s proposal replaces the original language of LD 1547 with a measure to permit trained pharmacists to furnish naloxone without a prescription to eligible individuals. According to the release, this will allow family members or friends to counteract an opiate overdose more quickly than emergency responders, which can be the difference between life and death.

“In our cities, emergency responders, armed with naloxone, are often only minutes away. But in our rural communities, help is not always so speedy,” said Sen. Cathy Breen, D-Falmouth, the bill’s lead Senate sponsor. “We should empower parents of Mainers struggling with substance use disorders by providing them this easy-to-administer drug. It could be the difference between life and death for their children.”

At a public hearing before the committee last week, the bill earned the support of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association and the Maine Harm Reduction Alliance.

“Drug overdoses are currently the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., having surpassed traffic fatalities,” said York Police Chief Douglas Bracy in his statement on behalf of the police chiefs’ organization. “The rate of fatal drug overdose has increased by nearly 600 percent over the past three decades and many of these overdoses are now attributed to opioid analgesics. These statistics leave no doubt in our minds that we must act to address this problem and save lives.”

According to the Attorney General’s office, more than 200 Mainers died of a drug overdose in 2014. In the first nine months of 2015, there were 174 overdose deaths, putting the state on track to reach between 230 and 250 overdose deaths last year.

But not everyone agrees with Gideon’s proposed bill.

Gov. Paul LePage’s press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, said in a statement Wednesday: “When addicts have a shot of naloxone in one hand and a shot of heroin in the other, it creates a false sense of security that will only serve to exacerbate Maine’s already-growing heroin crisis.”

She added: “This bill implicitly condones heroin use making it socially acceptable. We have to get serious about the root cause of heroin use and we will only be successful in this fight through a comprehensive approach — targeting drug traffickers, strengthening opiate prescribing limits and ensuring successful treatment and recovery programs are available to addicts who are seeking help all are part of the solution.”

Gideon sponsored emergency legislation passed in 2014 that allowed first responders with training to administer naloxone in order to prevent overdose deaths. Maine lawmakers approved an additional measure to expand access to the antidote sponsored by Rep. Henry Beck, D-Waterville, last year. Since 2001, 16 other states have also passed laws making it easier to prescribe, dispense and administer naloxone.

“This bill, combined with the legislation that came before it, has a real chance of making a significant impact on overdose deaths,” Kenney Miller, executive director of the Maine Health Equity Alliance, told the committee. “It will help to turn the tide and reduce the body count. By allowing over-the-counter sale of naloxone through participating pharmacies, we increase access to this miracle medication throughout Maine.”

Also known by its trade name, Narcan, naloxone is not addictive and does not produce euphoria. It has no effect if there are no narcotics in a person’s system.

The bill faces further votes in the House and Senate.

Governor’s stance

• GOV. LEPAGE’S press secretary, Adrienne Bennett, said in a statement Wednesday: “When addicts have a shot of naloxone in one hand and a shot of heroin in the other, it creates a false sense of security that will only serve to exacerbate Maine’s already-growing heroin crisis.”

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