Anti-Overdose Drug Training Bill Passes Ohio Senate

LAKEWOOD, OH — Legislation training pharmacists to dispense overdose-reversing drugs without a prescription passed the Ohio Senate unanimously this week. The bill, introduced by Lakewood State Senator Nickie Antonio, will now head to the Ohio House.

Senate Bill 59 requires all pharmacists, and technicians working in pharmacies which dispense naloxone, to receive training teaching them to dispense the drug without a prescription. In 2015, the Ohio legislature passed a law allowing pharmacists to use a standing order, signed by a doctor, to dispense anti-overdose drugs to customers who don't have a prescription.

Antonio said she was startled by a media report into naloxone prescriptions. "With the opioid epidemic as horrific as it is in Ohio, we need every tool available to keep our friends, family and loved ones alive," she said.

Ohio is consistently among the states with the highest opioid-related overdose death rates. A 2016 U.S. Congressional report called Ohio the "face of the opioid epidemic." Earlier this week, Cuyahoga and Summit counties settled a massive lawsuit with one opioid maker and three drug distributors.