Nixon signs bill for more access to anti-overdose medicine

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Residents soon will be able to carry medicine to counter heroin overdoses without a prescription under a new law signed Tuesday by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon.

The measure, which is part of a push by state officials to combat rising levels of opiate addiction, will give legal protection to good Samaritans who use the drug naloxone on someone who appears to be suffering from an overdose and then call emergency responders.

Pharmacists also will be able to sell naloxone, which now requires a prescription. The law takes effect Aug. 28.

Nixon touted the legislation as potentially life-saving for opioid overdoses, including those caused by some opiate painkillers and other prescription pills.

But he raised concerns lawmakers again did not pass a statewide prescription-drug monitoring program, which would require pharmacies to report to the state health department details about medications dispensed.

Missouri is the only state without such a program.

"While I am disappointed that the legislature failed to pass a prescription-drug monitoring program, expanding access to naloxone is an important step forward that will save lives," Nixon said in a statement.

Missouri had 1,067 drug overdose deaths in 2014, the most recent year for which the Centers for Disease Control has compiled state-level data.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill in January cited a prescription-drug monitoring program as among the tools she said the state needs to fight opioid abuse. But proposals to establish one have failed for years in the Legislature, where pushback centers on privacy concerns and where some lawmakers have questioned the effectiveness of such a program.

Without a statewide monitoring program, some officials have decided to enact local programs.

According to The Kansas City Star, Jackson County officials Monday passed a resolution in support of creating a countywide database.

In May, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay signed a measure to create a monitoring program in the city, and St. Louis County took similar action in March.