A.G. Gancarski
Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, a Fort Myers Republican who chairs the Rules Committee, shepherded her bill designed to curb opioid abuse through that panel Wednesday.
SB 8 calls for a three-day prescription limit for acute pain, with a seven-day limit allowed in cases of medical necessity.
The House version (HB 21) still has a committee stop; Rules was the final Senate stop for this measure, however.
With backing from the Governor, Attorney General, Senate President, and Speaker of the House, there is little doubt this bill will get through in the end.
In October, Gov. Rick Scott said this “major legislation,” along with “more than $50 million in my recommended budget to combat opioid abuse in our state,” would “make a major impact on limiting the chance of drug addiction.”
Similar initiatives are being pushed through in West Virginia and California, suggesting that Florida won’t be alone in an approach to prescriptions that will change the model.
