HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2018.08.09 - 23744#18298
BY: Commissioner David Woodward, District 19; "1"1-1-'1 (1--‘5 1('-4A-404" t y lia/I/E5 /7 MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION .
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS - SUPPORT MICHIGAN HOUSE BILL 6857 - STEMMING)
TEENAGE OPIOID PILFERING (STOP) BILL
To the the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS Oakland County and the State of Michigan continue their diligent work to address the tragic
opioid epidemic in our county and state; and
WHEREAS opioids, in the form of powerful and highly addictive pain killers, have led to rising numbers of
opioid dependence among Michigan residents, subsequently, increasing the access for our youth to these
harmful prescription drugs by way of the family medicine cabinet; and
WHEREAS the landscape of prescription drugs and pain management has drastically changed and some
of today's drugs are 80 times stronger than morphine; and
WHEREAS a study, gathering data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Center for Disease Control,
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, among others, found that Michigan
ranks 4th in the United States for states with the highest drug use in 2018; and
WHEREAS according to a Johns Hopkins University study, "pilfering" is the leading cause of youth opioid
abuse, resulting in nearly 600,000 children and teens in the United States becoming hooked on prescription
pain pills; and
WHEREAS "pilfering" is the act of stealing someone else's prescription medication for recreational use with
the hope that it will go undetected; and
WHEREAS each year 960,000 children nationally, between the ages of 12 and 17 initiate prescription drug
abuse and many children start in middle school; and
WHEREAS Michigan House Bill 5857, Stemming Teenage Opioid Pilfering (STOP) bill, has been
introduced in the Michigan Legislature, which would amend Public Act 368 of 1978 entitled the "Public
Health Code," regarding the dispensing of schedule 2 controlled substances in a lockable vial, this
represents an effort by the legislature to address the public health and safety concern of the prescription
drug abuse among our youth; and
WHEREAS the Federal Poison Prevention Packaging Act was enacted and child-resistant vials were
designed in 1970, with the goal to prevent children younger than 5 from gaining access to aspirin; and
WHEREAS the ineffective and outdated child-resistant prescription vials, currently in use, have not been
modified in nearly 50 years; and
WHEREAS House Bill 5857 is aimed to deter young people from having access to prescription drugs by
requiring opioids and other Schedule II drugs to be sealed in a lockable vial; and
WHEREAS patients would only be able to open the caps through a combination code or biometric
recognition system; and
WHEREAS experts believe the measure would prevent 150,000 young people from initiating drug abuse,
save more than $1 billion in health care costs, and return $715 million in lost productivity and criminal justice
costs to Michigan's economy over a ten-year period; and
WHEREAS requiring opioids and other highly addictive Schedule ll drugs be dispensed in Locking
Prescription Vials will significantly reduce pilfering, save lives and save millions in excess costs to local
communities; and
WHEREAS Oakland County recognizes that elected leaders must adapt or seek new methods of fighting
the problem of opioid drug abuse in teenagers; the proposed HB 5857 provides a focused cost-effective
measure with emphasis on preventive strategies,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners does hereby
offer their support of HB 5857 as introduced by the Michigan House of Representatives.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds is requested to forward
copies of this adopted resolution to the Governor of the State of Michigan, the Lt. Governor of the State of
Michigan, the Oakland County members of the Michigan congressional delegation, the members of the
Oakland County delegation to the Michigan Legislature, the members of the Michigan House Health Policy
Committee, the members of the Michigan Senate Health Policy Committee, and the Michigan Prescription
Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force.
Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution.
Commissioner
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Resolution #18298 August 9, 2018
The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee. There were no objections.