Some D.C. city council members are seeking to limit access to opioid prescriptions and expand access to drugs that stop overdoses in an effort to fight the deadly opioid crisis.
At least 190 D.C. residents have died from an opioid overdose this year, according to a recent report.
Last year, the report says opioids claimed the lives of 231 D.C. residents.
“The District has lagged a little bit behind on our response to the opioid crisis. We've seen increasing opioid deaths without much intervention for the past couple of years,” Kaitlyn Boecker of the Drug Policy Alliance said.
Now, two legislators are moving to curb the opioid crisis by limiting access to addiction prescriptions and making life-saving overdose treatments more widely available.
D.C. Council chairperson Phil Mendelson wants to curb that by restricting the number of opioid pills patients could take home without follow-up doctor’s visits.
Patients with prescriptions for opioids like oxycodone or hydromorphone would only be allowed to take home a one-week supply under the proposed law. Then, the patient would have to visit their doctor and get a refill.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
It would help stop prescription opiods from slipping out of the medicine cabinet and onto the black market, Mendelson said.
D.C. police would be required to carry anti-overdose drug naloxone under a rule proposed by D.C. Council Health Committee chairperson Vincent Gray.
Gray’s legislation also aims to increase access to preventative treatments.
Some advocates want new legislation to go further.
"Anything that gets more naloxone out into the community is a good thing," Cyndee Clay, Executive director of HIPS, a longstanding counseling and health organization, said.
"People aren't always overdosing where they live," Clay said.
The Council has scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 12th on the new anti-overdose proposals.
