Attorney General Laxalt Urges Adoption of CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opiate Drugs


January 14, 2016

Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt, along with a bipartisan group of other 35 state and territorial attorneys general, sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urging the agency to adopt the proposed federal guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain. Opioids such as Codeine, Vicodin and OxyContin are a type of narcotic pain medication used to treat extreme or intractable pain.

    The CDC guidelines better inform prescribers by providing them with clear guidance on how to assess the potential benefits and harms of opioid use. While the guidelines recognize that opioids are an important tool for alleviating extreme pain, they also provide prescribers with knowledge about how to more safely manage patients using opioids.

      “Throughout the country, including in Nevada, prescription drug and heroin addiction is on the rise, devastating our families and affecting our criminal justice system,” said Laxalt. “In order to reduce addiction and needless overdoses in the state, we must attack the problem with an ‘all of the above’ approach. My Office not only remains committed to participating in prescription drug take back programs, but also believes that providing a framework for prescribers of these drugs will improve access to opioids for patients that require this medicine.”

        In addition to Nevada, other attorneys general who have signed onto the letter include: Arkansas, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

          To view the signed letter, click here.

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