Mississippians recently found out what it will take for Gov. Phil Bryant to support a tax increase and a product-liability lawsuit: prescription drug addiction.
The governor, who in tandem with the Legislature has been far more inclined to reduce taxes and spending, said last week that he agrees with a task force recommendation to tax pharmaceutical companies for certain medication that’s prone to abuse. The tax would pay for treatment of addicted patients.
That may be a good idea, but it sure could let a genie out of the bottle. A few years ago, Democrats in the Legislature wanted the state to tax soft drinks, blaming their sugar for the state’s rising rates of obesity and diabetes. Republicans disagreed and nothing happened.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, the governor also said he does not object to Attorney General Jim Hood’s effort to sue opioid manufacturers for damages their products allegedly have caused. That’s a surprising stand for any Republican, but it’s a true shocker to hear it from Bryant.
The prescription drug task force produced 41 recommendations to reduce the availability of opioids like hydrocodone and oxycontin, and to get much more aggressive in treating people who become addicted.
Many of them make sense:
• Reducing prescriptions of opioids to just three days for pain that is not related to cancer.
• More testing of patients to see if they’re already using the drugs.
• Requiring medical caregivers to check a state database on prescriptions before authorizing more of them for a patient.
Others - which also make sense - clearly will cost the state some money. The task force says Mississippi must increase its current capacity to treat 732 addiction patients. Bryant said he will seek federal grants to pay for it but is willing to spend more state money as well.
State figures say that in 2016, 211 people in Mississippi died of a drug overdose, although many officials believe that number is low. Either way, the body count is enough to warrant significant changes in the distribution of opioid-based painkillers that are responsible for many of the deaths - and thousands more addiction cases.
The two most sensible steps are reducing the number of pills doctors are allowed to prescribe in most cases; and increasing access to drug rehabilitation for people who become addicted.
It will be a test of Bryant’s persuasion skills to convince legislative Republicans to pony up more health care money, given the steep cuts applied to its budget a few months ago. Even if that happens, the most frustrating thing about the country’s growing dependency on opioids is the knowledge that some people who can no longer obtain them will resort to more dangerous methods of getting their fix.
Heroin - an opioid just like the prescription drugs in question - is now blamed for more overdoses and deaths across the country. Reducing access to prescription medication increases the craving for illegal drugs. What a discouraging state of affairs for our state and our nation.
Jack Ryan is publisher of the Enterprise-Journal.
