Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe on Thursday signed four bills into law crafted to reduce the human cost of the opioid epidemic in Virginia.
The new laws will collectively allow community organizations to retain and dispense the opioid overdose drug naloxone to those trained to use it; allow local health departments in parts of the state with high rates of HIV and hepatitis C to engage in harm reduction initiatives like syringe exchanges; allow social services to initiate a care plan for families with a child exposed to opioids in utero; and mandate that all opioid prescriptions be transmitted to pharmacies electronically by 2020.
"Abuse of opioids continues to kill Virginians," said Gov. McAuliffe. "We recognize that addiction is a disease, not a moral failing, and our proposals for this General Assembly session focused on preventing addiction and providing treatment for those who suffer from it. While our overdose death statistics, sadly, continue to rise, each number represents a family that is suffering. We will use every tool we can get to continue this fight."
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