Massachusetts Bill H 4056 An Act Relative To Substance Use, Treatment, Education & Prevention

On March 14, 2016, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed legislation to address opioid addiction, and the state believes it is the nation’s “most comprehensive” law because it has provisions targeting prescribing, screening, training, access to treatment, and prevention. The legislation sets a set a seven day limit on first-time opioid prescriptions for adults and on every opioid prescription for children, and prescribers must check the state’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) database before writing a prescription for a Schedule 2 or Schedule 3 narcotics. It provides funding for screening to identify those at-risk, and allows people to . . .