Chairman Alexander seeks final passage by summer
The Senate Health Committee advanced opioids legislation Tuesday that packages dozens of measures aimed at seizing and destroying deadly fentanyl at the border, reining in excessive amounts of addictive pills and speeding safer painkillers to market.
Dubbed the Opioids Response Act of 2018, the package includes 40 different proposals and attacks the addiction crisis from several angles — from assisting children who’ve been traumatized by their parents’ drug use to requiring certain opioids to be sold in preset blister packs, so patients only take what they need.
Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander said the effort, which received unanimous support from the panel, proved the parties can come together in a partisan climate, even if stamping out the opioids crisis will be an ongoing and expansive effort.
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