Maryland Has New Law To Help Fight Opioid Addiction

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Legislation to battle heroin and opioid overdoses in Maryland with education, prevention, treatment and law enforcement was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Larry Hogan.

Matt and Cheryl Godbey, whose 24-year-old daughter Emily died in November from a fentanyl overdose, came from Frederick, Maryland, for the bill-signing ceremony. Matt Godbey applauded a new law that will bring stiffer penalties to drug dealers who knowingly sell fentanyl resulting in a death. Fentanyl is a painkiller that is often combined with heroin, with deadly results.

Drug dealers were so aggressive in selling drugs to his daughter, Godbey said, they would pull up to the drive-thru window at the fast-food restaurant where she worked to place drugs in front of her when she was trying to quit.

"It killed her so fast, she couldn't even close her eyes. They found her sitting in a chair with her eyes open," Matt Godbey said. "We just don't want other families to hurt like we are."

One measure is called the HOPE Act. It requires hospitals to set a new protocol for discharging patients treated for substance abuse disorders. It creates a 24-hour emergency hotline and establishes a 24/7 crisis treatment center for people experiencing mental health and substance abuse crises. It also increases access to the overdose-reversal drug known as naloxone. The bill also provides added funding for community behavioral health providers.

Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Baltimore County Democrat who sponsored the measure, said she worked to make the bill as comprehensive as possible to fight the stubbornly disturbing rise in overdose deaths. She said the only thing lawmakers didn't do was to put the words "please keep it in your prayers" in the law.

"Because that's what we need to do, because I feel like it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse," she said.

Sen. Michael Hough sponsored legislation to create an added 10-year penalty for people who knowingly sell fentanyl resulting in an overdose death. The Frederick County Republican said his county has been particularly hard hit by the scourge.

"Lots of young people dying and overdosing," Hough said. "It's just a real epidemic."

A separate bill is called the Start Talking Maryland Act. It requires education programs in schools on opioid addiction.

The governor signed 209 bills at his last scheduled bill signing from the legislative session that ended last month.

One of the session's high-profile measures, which would require five days of paid sick leave at businesses with 15 or more employees, has yet to be signed. Hogan, a Republican, supported his own version of the legislation that did not pass. He has scheduled a news conference Thursday afternoon on an undisclosed topic. Democrats who control the General Assembly passed the bill by veto-proof margins.

Here's a look at some other bills signed by the governor Thursday:

MEDICAID-ADULT DENTAL

Authorizes expansion of Medicaid adult dental coverage.

BEE HABITAT

Prohibits pesticides known to harm pollinators on state land designated as pollinator habitats.

SCHOOL TESTING

Limits school testing to 2.2 percent of the school year. That's about 24 hours for elementary and middle schools and about 26 hours in high schools, except for eighth grade, which would be limited to about 25 hours.

Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.