Where Opioids Are Deadliest, the State Limits Prescriptions

The Opioid Reduction Act, which passed nearly unanimously in both chambers, limits initial opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply. Prescribers are also encouraged to prescribe the lowest effective dose for treatment.

The Act also requires practitioners, before issuing an initial prescription, to take a thorough medical history, including substance misuse; to develop a treatment plan, with particular attention focused on determining the cause of the patient's pain; and to access relevant drug monitoring information on the Controlled Substances Monitoring Program database.

For adults seeking treatment in an emergency room or urgent care facility, practitioners are limited to four-day prescriptions.

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study has shown the probability of long-term opioid use increases most sharply in the first days of therapy, particularly after five days or one month of opioids have been prescribed, and levels off after approximately 12 weeks of therapy.

The study was published in March 2017 in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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