Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

House Bill Limits Painkiller Prescriptions To 5-Day Supply

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
MGN Online
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

The Florida House wants to fight opioid addiction by placing new restrictions on how doctors prescribe painkillers.

The House passed a bill 93-22 Thursday that would in part limit the first prescription for opioids to a five-day supply.

It also would force pharmacies to report the dispensing of a controlled substance to a state database by the end of the next business day, instead of the current seven-day deadline.

Bill proponents said that about half the people who seek treatment for opioid addiction began taking them after receiving a legitimate prescription.

Opponents included two state representatives who are doctors. They said the bill is overregulating the relationship doctors have with their patients.

A similar bill in the Senate has three more committee stops.