Thursday letters: SC overdose prevention law will save lives

Last month the Legislature passed H.3083, my bill to allow health-care professionals to administer an opioid antidote to individuals at risk of an overdose of morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone and other opiods.

Similar laws have saved lives in other states, and its passage gives us another way to save lives here.

The law allows physicians to issue prescriptions for opioid antidotes to patients who are at risk of an overdose or to those patients’ caregivers. It also allows first responders to administer opioid antidotes to people they believe are experiencing an opioid-related overdose.

Local law enforcement officials, who see firsthand the very real dangers of overdoses, support this law.

The S.C. Overdose Prevention Act was a unanimous, bipartisan effort that will save lives, and it is my hope that we can come together again in a bipartisan effort next year to pass a significant roads bill that likewise will save lives, by making our roads safer.

South Carolina faces many challenges that require a solid plan and bipartisan cooperation. I know everyone expects and should receive a sooner rather than later plan to address our neglected road system and have their voices heard on issues of significance to them.