Authored, co-sponsored and supported several measures aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic that has devastated so many in our communities throughout the Commonwealth.

• Supported legislation in the Senate to require mandatory drug prevention education for all students in middle schools and high schools.
• Funding of $20 million in state budget to address the addiction situation.
• Budget funding of $7 million to provide for the life-saving drug Naloxone in the event of a narcotic overdose.
• Outline licensure requirements of drug and alcohol recovery houses.
• Require continuing education in pain management and opioid prescribing practices for all licensed prescribers and dispensers.
• Limit the amount of opioids that may be prescribed for minors
• Implement the “Safe Opioid Prescribing Curriculum” in all of Pennsylvania’s medical schools
• Set limits on dispensing opioid drugs in hospital emergency rooms and urgent care centers. Under the “Safe Emergency Prescribing Act,” a health care practitioner may not prescribe more than seven days of opioid drug treatment to a patient seeking treatment in an emergency department or an urgent care center.
• Limit prescriptions for controlled substances containing opioids to seven days, unless there’s some sort of emergency or the patient’s health is at risk. It would also require prescribers describe the dangers of overdose and addiction with patients before they get their prescription
• Limit opioid prescriptions to five days while also allowing for extensions depending on the individual patient’s needs.
• Allow a spouse, relative, or caregiver to petition a court seeking treatment for a person suffering from drug or alcohol abuse if that person also presents a danger to themselves or others and would reasonably benefit from treatment.
• Provide protections of the identity and personal information of individuals who make 911 calls.