CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Assembly members are reviewing a bill backed by Gov. Brian Sandoval that would increase access to drugs that can help reverse a potentially deadly heroin or painkiller overdose.
Members of the Assembly Health and Human Services Committee held a hearing Wednesday for SB459, which passed unanimously out of the Senate earlier this month.
The so-called "Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act" would reduce criminal penalties for reporting drug overdoses.
It would also make it easier for people to access the non-addictive drug naloxone, which can help reverse potentially deadly opioid overdoses.
Doctors raised concerns about a section of the bill that required them to check a patient's prescription history before prescribing a painkiller, and use that information to determine whether to move forward with the prescription.