Letters: SC overdose act will save lives

If you have known anyone who is caught in the clutches of addiction, you know the delicate balance that must be struck between tough love and watching the health of someone who can’t help himself.

Last year, the Legislature passed the S.C. Overdose Protection Act, which I believe strikes that balance by allowing health-care professionals to administer an opioid antidote to individuals at risk of an overdose of morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone and other opioids. It 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.

Now the House has unanimously passed and the Senate is one vote away from passing H.5193, which extends protection to pharmacists who play a critical role when this life-saving treatment is required for someone suffering from addiction.

The original law and this new bill are rare examples of legislation done exactly right. I am proud to support legislation that protects our citizens and those who support their health care when they are most vulnerable.