WASHINGTON — In a meeting of the top prosecutors in the country, attorneys general are sharing ideas about one topic in particular — opioid addiction and how to combat what some call an epidemic.
In Virginia, 728 people died from heroin overdoses in 2014.
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says the third opioid-related bill is now working its way through the Senate, after passing the House of Delegates.
“It’s a drug-induced homicide bill to give us the same tools federal prosecutors have,” he says.
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh says he’s impressed by an idea he’s heard out of New York.
“If a doctor is prescribing an opioid, it’s done electronically. They check against a database to see if the patient has received an opioid prescription,” he says. The database also tracks how long it has been since the patient’s last opioid prescription, and how many pharmacies and doctors they’ve been to for prescriptions.
“That kind of global system can make a difference. It’s expensive. Not all doctors have the electronic infrastructure to do it, but ultimately that’s a way of getting a good handle on it,” he says.
Frosh says he’s hoping there will be action during this legislative session to provide greater oversight of opioid prescriptions.
“We find it’s a real gateway to increased heroin use. Legislatively, we’re addressing that in Maryland,” he says.
