Thursday, April 28, 2016

Maine Passes Law to Curb Opioid Abuse

Governor Paul LePage signed into law “An Act to Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program” (now PL 2015, c. 488) on April 19, making Maine the second state to pass legislation on the issue this year. 
Beginning January 1, 2017, providers will not be allowed to prescribe more than a seven-day supply of opioids within a seven-day period for acute pain or a 30-day supply within a 30-day period for chronic pain. 
Maine’s 100 morphine milligram equivalent (MME) cap for new patients is slightly higher than the 90 MME called for under U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and lower than the 120 MME cap enacted by Massachusetts and Washington. Patients currently receiving opioid pain medication have a higher, 300 MME cap until July 2017 to ease their transition to a lower dose. 

For more information, see the press release at http://go.usa.gov/cuDHj