Hudson votes to combat fentanyl

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. House of Representatives last week passed the Stop the Importation and Trafficking of Synthetic Analogues Act of 2017 (H.R. 2851), legislation to combat fentanyl, a synthetic drug that is responsible for twice as many deaths in North Carolina as heroin.

U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee and local representative, voted in favor of the legislation.

“Fentanyl is hitting our communities with deadly force—surpassing heroin for overdose deaths in North Carolina,” Hudson said. “Today’s bipartisan legislation will help get these dangerous drugs off our streets. We are acting on dozens of initiatives focused on proper disposal, prevention, recovery, supporting law enforcement and helping veterans. Taken together, these bills will make a meaningful impact on our communities and help save lives.”

To help combat the opioid crisis that’s wreaking havoc on communities across the country, the House is considering dozens of bills in the coming weeks, prioritizing treatment and recovery, prevention, ways to protect the community, and fighting fentanyl.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. It has also been named the leading cause of opioid overdose deaths.

The House unanimously passed Hudson’s bill, the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act (H.R. 5041), a bipartisan response to the opioid crisis that will help prevent the misuse or diversion of unused medications by equipping hospice professionals with the legal authority to safely dispose of unused drugs after a hospice patient’s death. H.R. 5041 passed by a vote of 398-0.

Coming up, the House will consider additional legislation, including Hudson’s bipartisan bill, the Securing Opioids and Unused Narcotics with Deliberate (SOUND) Disposal and Packaging Act (H.R. 5687), which received unanimous committee approval in May.

This effort follows the passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act last Congress, as well as the $4 billion appropriated in the FY18 omnibus. For more information on what the House is doing to combat the opioid crisis, go to opioidcrisis.gop.

Background
North Carolina has four of the top 25 worst cities for abuse in the country. As a leader on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the panel tasked with writing most of the nation’s health-care laws, Hudson continues to be on the front lines of the committee’s work to learn more about how and why the opioid epidemic happened and what legislative solutions can be pursued.

Hudson recently hosted a roundtable discussion at Serenity House in Concord to meet with local leaders, local officials, law enforcement, health care professionals and members of the community fighting addiction and talk about ways to improve public health response efforts.

The House’s two-week action builds on months of bipartisan work and discussions. In March during a two-day Health Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Combating the Opioid Crisis: Prevention and Public Health Solutions,” the Subcommittee discussed his bill, and Hudson questioned witnesses—including Dr. John Holaday, chair and CEO of DisposeRx, the country’s leading site-of-use medication disposal company, which is located in Southern Pines.

Hudson and Holaday highlighted the importance of educating patients on the proper use, storage and disposal of opioids and offering convenient disposal methods.