Maryland is First State to Legislate New Life-Saving Requirements to Battle Opioid Epidemic

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Safe Rx, a Colorado-based manufacturer and marketer of locking prescription vials used by pharmacies and veterinarians for dispensing opioids and other controlled substances, today announced its support for new Maryland legislation that will mandate the use of locking vials for dispensing of controlled substances by pharmacies in the state.  

The legislation, originally filed as SB 428 in the Maryland Senate, was sponsored by Senator Katherine Klausmeier, Chairman of the Joint Legislative Taskforce on Opioid Addiction.  The bill co-sponsors included an additional twenty senators and delegates from the General Assembly. 

Dr. Andrea Gielen, a renowned expert and Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, testified in support of the legislation.  In 2015, Dr. Gielen and others from the Bloomberg School published a landmark report on the opioid epidemic, co-signed by over 30 leading national opioid experts, that identified improved container security as a key solution to the drug abuse epidemic, after similar commentary from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration over the last several years.

"The drug abuse epidemic is robbing us of a generation of Marylanders, and locking vials will cut off the number one source for teen abuse," said Senator Klausmeier.  "It's another great tool for the toolbox to fix this epidemic," she added.  

If passed by the legislature, the new regulations will represent the first material upgrade to the security of containers used for drug dispensing since 1970, when the Poison Prevention Packaging Act established the current child-resistant standards.  The legislation is supported by national and local interest groups, including the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse, the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association and the Maryland Sheriffs' Association.  Additional in-state coalitions are expected to announce their support in the coming days. 

"The Maryland legislature should be applauded for taking this long overdue step," said Milton Cohen, President & CEO of Safe Rx.  "For less than a $1.00 more per scrip, Maryland will prevent over 100,000 teens from initiating abuse and return over $1 billion to its state economy over the next ten years," he added.  

Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States.  Prescription drugs are the number one gateway to heroin addiction and have become the most commonly abused substances among 12 and 13-year-olds, with pilfering from family medicine cabinets the number one source for teen abuse.  In Maryland, 69% of opioid abusers initiate between 12 – 25 years of age and 26% between 12 & 17, with stealing from family and friends the number 1 and number 5 sources for abuse, respectively.   

About Safe Rx^TM LPVs

Safe Rx^TM LPVs are physician-developed, child resistant certified locking vials that are tamper-evident and pilfer-resistant.  Designed for use in high volume dispensing, Safe Rx^TM LPVs are engineered for extremely low incremental fill time and easy workflow adaptation.  For more information visit www.safe-rx.com.

SOURCE Safe Rx

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