US President Donald Trump has signed a bipartisan opioid bill into law called SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act to combat a growing substance crisis in the country.
According to a report by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), more than 115 people die a day in the US from opioid overdoses. The national crisis is said to pose a total economic burden of $78.5bn a year due to prescription opioid misuse.
Trump said in a statement: “The act addresses the opioid crisis that is plaguing our nation by reducing the supply of and access to opioids and by expanding access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services.”
The ‘Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse’ will work to minimise drug demand through awareness and prevention, stop illicit drugs flow and increase therapy development opportunities to treat addiction.
Furthermore, support will be provided for research on addiction-preventing approaches, alternatives for non-addictive pain management and tools for overdose prevention.
Last month, the government allocated more than $1bn to state and local organisations in order to help tackle the crisis. The Trump Administration also revealed plans to collaborate with the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), Truth Initiative, and Ad Council to prevent misuse in young adults.
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By GlobalDataA ‘Safer Prescribing Plan’ has also been introduced to cut prescription fills for opioids by a third over three years and implement a network of prescription drug monitoring programmes.
Additional measures being taken to prevent illegal smuggling of drugs into the country include securing land borders and testing suspicious substances in packages.
In addition, the government is working with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to tighten the rules against the opioid epidemic.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted that the new law will grant additional powers to reduce the scope of the crisis.
The regulatory authority added that measures to stop the entry of illegal, illicit, unapproved, counterfeit and potentially dangerous drugs into the US will be strengthened.
