9/26/14 - Three bills sponsored by a local representative and passed by the state senate this week will help loosen restrictions for drugs that help fight heroin overdose. House Bills 5404, 5405, and 5407 were introduced in March with bipartisan sponsorship from eight representatives, including Joe Graves of Argentine Township. All three deal with opioid antagonists, drugs which bind to the same receptors as opioid drugs like heroin or morphine and prevent those drugs from affecting the nervous system. Such drugs are used to combat opioid overdose, House Bill 5404 makes some language changes to the public health code, requiring medical control authorities to adopt protocols for medical first responders to be equipped with and use opioid antagonists. HB 5405 protects people from criminal penalties for administering opioid antagonists to patients who are overdosing. HB 5407 gives doctors the ability to dispense opioid antagonists to friends and family of those who may need it, and eliminates civil liability associated with its use. All three bills passed the State Senate on Wednesday by an overwhelming margin, but since there were some minor language tweaks they must go back to the House to be approved once again. Once that happens, the bills will go to Governor Snyder for final approval. (TD)
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