WASHINGTON -- Minnesota already has in place about half of the recommendations the White House has asked Gov. Mark Dayton to adopt, state officials said.
President Obama heads to Atlanta today to speak to the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit. Ahead of his trip last week, White House officials asked all 50 governors to get state policies in place to help the federal government combat the rise in opioid addiction.
The American Association of Addiction Medicine says drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. and opioids -- including oxycodone, codeine and morphine -- are driving the epidemic nationally.
-The Minnesota Department of Health confirmed the state has a drug monitoring program which requires pharmacists to electronically transmit prescribing and dispensing data.
-Minnesota requires pharmacists to submit data to the database within 24 hours of a prescription and the database is inter-operable with 23 other states, including all of the surrounding states.
-Minnesota law allows for the operation of needle exchange programs, which helps reduce the spread of HIV.
-Minnesota allows "third-party" prescriptions of Naloxone, which counters the effects of an overdose. This enables a caregiver or a family member to get Naloxone for another person.
-Minnesota law allows for 150 drug "take back" programs -- which allows for safe drop off locations of medication.
