Democrats made progress in the fight against the opioid crisis recently when we pushed the Maine Board of Pharmacy to finally take action on rules that would make the life-saving anti-overdose medication naloxone available over the counter. But, in a last-minute switch, Maine Board of Pharmacy Chairman (and strong supporter of Paul LePage) Joe Bruno changed the rules to deny this medication to anyone under the age of 21. Now, we must take action to bring the age back down to 18.
Help fight the opioid crisis in Maine by sending a public comment to the Maine Board of Pharmacy urging them to reject the age limit on this life-saving anti-overdose medication. The Board of Pharmacy is holding a public comment period until March 9th on the new age-limited naloxone rules. We must send a clear message: LePage's age limit idea is unnecessary, ill-founded, and plain wrong. Naloxone should be made available over the counter for Mainers over 18.
Make your voice heard by sending your public comment to Geraldine Betts, Program Administrator, at Geraldine.L.Betts@maine.gov.
E-mail geraldine.l.betts@maine.gov
Remember: Be respectful and courteous. If you have a personal story or relevant experience to share, be sure to include it in your comment!
The sad fact is that not only has Governor LePage failed to act in any meaningful way to solve the opioid crisis, but he’s made it worse by restricting access to treatment options, putting up barriers to anti-overdose medication, and irrationally objecting to Medicaid expansion. Not this time.