Nov. 17, 2015
HARRISBURG – State Representative Rosemary M. Brown (R-Monroe/Pike) joined several of her House colleagues Tuesday at a press conference in Harrisburg to introduce a package of bills to continue the fight against opioid abuse in Pennsylvania.
“There are far too many families in the 189th District, and across the state, that are being torn apart from drug addiction, and their similar stories repeat themselves that the problem originated with opioid pain killers,” Brown said. “Opioids act as a major gateway for continued and further drug abuse and addiction, which often leads to personal destruction, crime and even death.”
Brown is introducing a bill that would regulate the prescribing of controlled substances in hospital emergency departments. The other bills in the package would address the following issues:
• Provide coverage requirements for insurance carriers and health insurance for abuse-deterrent opioid analgesic drug problems.
• Encourage continuing medical education classes in addiction and addiction treatment.
• Establish a task force on access to treatment through health plans.
• Allow for a drug take-back program which provides for safe destruction of unused drugs.
“We must strengthen every policy decision we can to aid in the reduction of the opioid addiction epidemic,” Brown said. “Caring for our family members, friends and neighbors, combined with focusing on local identification, prevention and treatment, together we can make a difference.”
Joe Regan from Fraternal Order of Police and Richard Long from the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association both stood in support of this initiative. Brown joined several state Representatives, including bill sponsors, Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon), Kurt A. Masser (R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland), Dan Moul (R-Adams) and Stephen Kinsey (D-Philadelphia) at the press conference.
Opioids are medicines that relive pain and reduce the intensity of pain signals reaching the brain and affect brain area that control emotion, which diminishes the effects of a painful stimulus, as defined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Video comments from today’s press conference can be found on
YouTube.com/RepBrown. For more information about this issue, or any state-related issue, contact Brown’s district office in East Stroudsburg located at 143 Seven Bridge Road, by calling 570-420-8301. Information can also be found on online at
RepBrown.com or
Facebook.com/RepRosemaryBrown.
Representative Rosemary M. Brown
189th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
KCorbin@pahousegop.com
RepBrown.com /
Facebook.com/RepRosemaryBrown