Bills targeting heroin deaths passed by House

The House of Delegates unanimously passed the final pieces of Attorney General Mark R. Herring’s package of heroin and prescription drug legislation on Tuesday, meaning that all four bills have made it halfway through the approval process in the General Assembly.

February 12, 2015; 9:02 AM • by Capital News Service

Update #1 — February 12, 2015; 9:00 AM

“This is a huge step forward in addressing a crisis that has claimed at least 3,000 lives in Virginia in the last five years,” Herring said. “Virginians should be proud that their elected leaders came together in a bipartisan way to save lives with evidenced-based strategies and tools.”

The bills include:

HB 1500, introduced by Democratic Del. Betsy Carr of Richmond and Republican Dels. John O’Bannon of Henrico and Tom Rust of Herndon. It would encourage people to report overdoses if they are intoxicated or possess a small amount of drugs. Such individuals could assert an affirmative defense if they report an overdose and remain at the scene. Similar provisions exist in 21 states and the District of Columbia.
HB 1458, introduced by O’Bannon. It would provide statewide expansion of the naloxone pilot program to include civil immunity for members of law enforcement across the state. Similar authorization exists in 23 states. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, naloxone successfully reversed more than 10,000 overdoses between 1996 and 2010.
HB 1638, introduced by Del. Jackson Miller, R-Manassas. This bill was rolled into HB 1427, a similar measure introduced by Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge. It would give prosecutors the ability to hold drug dealers accountable when their drugs lead to a fatal overdose.
SB 817, introduced by Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston. It would give probation officers access to Virginia’s prescription monitoring program to ensure their probationers are not getting opioid prescriptions they are not authorized to have.

The House voted 100-0 on Tuesday to approve HB 1500 and HB 1427. The other bills were approved last week.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys have endorsed the legislation.

“This is a public health and public safety problem that is crossing all demographic and geographic lines, and it’s a problem that calls for education, prevention, and treatment, as well as enforcement tools,” Herring said.

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Original — January 23, 2015

By Craig Zirpolo

“Let me show you a picture of my daughter,” Carolyn Weems said as she stood at the podium and wept. The Virginia Beach School Board member recounted how chronic pain and sports-related injuries led her daughter, a high school soccer star with a scholarship and bright future, from prescription painkillers to heroin and a cycle of rehab and relapse.

Caitlyn was clean for 14 months when her daughter was born but relapsed in April 2013. At 21 years old, she died on the bathroom floor of a clean-living facility, leaving behind a three-year-old daughter and parents still seeking answers.

“Even though it has been months since we lost our daughter, every day it’s fresh and it hurts,” Weems said. “I do not want another family to have to go through this.”

Heroin overdose deaths in Virginia have more than doubled from 100 in 2011 to 213 in 2013, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Every region of the state experienced an increase in heroin fatalities: a 164 percent increase in Northern Virginia, a 94 percent increase in Hampton Roads, and a 50 percent increase in the Richmond metro area.

In response, Attorney General Mark Herring and a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are seeking passage of four bills addressing the heroin and prescription painkiller abuse epidemic in Virginia, including one that would hold drug dealers accountable for overdose deaths.

“I don’t want one more parent to bury a child, or one more child to lose a parent, because of these drugs,” Herring said at a press conference Tuesday. “This is just one step, but we think it’s an important one in turning the tide against heroin and prescription drug fatalities.”

A trio of legislators is sponsoring a medical amnesty proposal – House Bill 1500. It would encourage the reporting of overdoses in progress. Under the bill, people who have a small amount of drugs or are intoxicated would get legal protection if they report an overdose and remain on the scene. Twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia have such laws.

HB 1500 is being sponsored by Dels. Betsy Carr, D-Norfolk; John O’Bannon, R-Henrico; and Thomas Rust, R-Herndon.

“It is my hope that my bill, HB 1500, when passed, will encourage individuals or their loved ones experiencing an overdose to seek timely medical attention,” Carr said. “We want to increase calls to 911 and decrease deaths from overdoses.”

Del. Jackson Miller, R-Manassas, has introduced HB 1638, which targets drug-induced homicides. It would more directly hold drug dealers accountable when their drugs lead to an overdose death – a situation currently difficult to prosecute in Virginia.

“There is still much work to be done to combat heroin and prescription drug abuse, but by holding dealers accountable for the full consequences of their actions, we can help slow the flood of cheap, dangerous drugs on our streets,” Miller said.

Carr and O’Bannon also have filed HB 1458, a statewide expansion of the Naloxone pilot project for use by any law enforcement agency in Virginia.

Naloxone is a prescription drug that counteracts the effects of a heroin or prescription opioid overdose, reversing more than 10,000 overdoses between 1996 and 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bill would also provide immunity to law enforcement officers who administer the drug. Similar laws have passed in 23 states.

SB 817, sponsored by Sen. Janet Howell, D-Reston, would make changes to Virginia’s Prescription Monitoring Program, helping probation officers ensure that their probationers are not getting opioid prescriptions they are not authorized to have.

The Fraternal Order of Police, the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police and the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys back the legislation.

“It is encouraging to see lawmakers really put their heads together and work on a solution to fight the heroin epidemic that has shaken our commonwealth,” said Jim Cervera, the police chief in Virginia Beach. “This is what being smart on crime is all about.”

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To track or comment on the bills addressing heroin overdose, visit Richmond Sunlight

Photo by: Thomas MarthinsenThomas Marthinsen