Sen. Mike Yakawich, R-Billings, has proposed Senate Bill 112, which would ban the government from purchasing overdose reversal drugs like Narcan from companies that have contributed to the opioid crisis. The bill passed the Senate with a 49-1 vote. Yakawich compared buying these drugs from such companies to “paying the arsonist to put out his own fire.”
Attorneys General have accused companies like Purdue Pharma and Hikma Pharmaceuticals of failing to monitor and report suspicious opioid orders, with Hikma being involved in the distribution of opioids for over 15 years. Despite concerns raised by Sen. Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, about potential supply issues, Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, assured that the change would not affect access to these drugs.
Yakawich received a letter from former Montana Attorney General Tom Miller and his counterparts in Iowa and Oklahoma urging legislators to only purchase life-saving opioid overdose medications from entities not involved in causing or fueling the opioid epidemic.
The bill will now move to the House for debate. This development was reported by Clayton Murphy, a journalist with the UM Legislative News Service. Contact him at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu for more information.
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