H.4014 - An Act authorizing pharmacists to provide opioid use disorder treatment

Current Status: Read more.

Senate Bill: S.1635, Senator John C. Velis Read more.

Background: The Opioid epidemic is one of the greatest public health challenges facing Massachusetts. In 2021, the most recent year to have complete data, 2,585 people died in the Commonwealth from opioid-related overdoses. Of those individuals, 25% were Black and Hispanic persons, even though they make up only 11% of all deaths in our state. We have medications such as buprenorphine (bew-pre-nor-feen) and methadone, which are safe and effective at treating addiction and preventing overdoses, but 87 percent of people with opioid use disorder never receive any medication treatment. 

What this bill does: This legislation would allow pharmacists in a retail setting, who have a collaborative practice agreement, to issue prescriptions for schedule II-VI controlled substances. In practice, this would allow individuals suffering from opioid use disorder to receive life-saving treatment from their local pharmacist.