Here are three things to know.
1. Democratic West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice signed a law this week that allows schools to supply an opioid-overdose antidote to students without informing parents, according to the report. The legislation was proposed by state lawmakers.
2. Under the law, nurses and trained public and private school personnel will be able to administer an opioid-overdose antidote to anyone at a school, according to the report. The legislation applies during regular school hours, events and functions on school property, the report states.
3. The law, which takes effect in roughly three months, comes amid the nation’s opioid epidemic. In 2015, West Virginia had 41.5 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 deaths, the highest rate in the U.S., according to the report, which cites federal data released by the National Center for Health Statistics in February.
More articles on opioids:
Opioids fuel 50% spike in drug overdose deaths in NYC
Rutgers releases toolkit to combat opioid epidemic in New Jersey
Louisiana governor backs legislation to limit opioid prescriptions
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