TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida House wants to fight opioid addiction by placing new restrictions on how doctors prescribe painkillers.
The House passed a bill 93-22 Thursday that would in part limit the first prescription for opioids to a five-day supply.
It would also force pharmacies to report the dispensing of a controlled substance to a state database by the end of the next business day, instead of the current seven-day deadline.
Bill proponents said that about half the people who seek treatment for opioid addiction began taking them after receiving a legitimate prescription.
Opponents included two state representatives who are doctors. They said the bill is overregulating the relationship doctors have with their patients.
A similar bill in the Senate has three more committee stops.
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