new jersey state legislature bill introduced

[[Ca...]]

I'm glad this has come out!! I wish all states could have the same thing. I especially like this: establish protocols for practitioners to follow including a slow, patient controlled tapering. It's way past the time when this should have been implemented, but better late than never!

 

© prohibit a practitioner or pharmacist from prescribing or dispensing a benzodiazepine or a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic unless pharmacist and practitioner has furnished the patient the pamphlet provided for in paragraph (b) of this section, and has collected the patient’s signed consent form, as determined by the Department of Health;

 

    (d) require bold lettering labels on benzodiazepine or non-benzodiazepine hypnotic prescriptions to alert patients to the risk of addiction; and

 

    (e) prohibit one benzodiazepine or one non-benzodiazepine hypnotic prescription to exceed four weeks unless there is a proven medical need, medical exception, or both.

 

ALLELUIA!!!

 

I would like the use to be less than 4 weeks; more like days to me, but beggars can't be choosers.

 

Thanks for this, seltzerer!! This brightened my day!

Sorry Terry, -just pinching your bolded quote..

 

If im understanding this right..??

Most of these things have been in place in some shape or form for quite some time here in Aust, as far as I know... The exeption being official informed consent... -and that a patient initiated and guided cesation was only a "recommendation" hidden deep in a government "DOD (drug of dependance) "best practice" guidelines.. I found a sample of these from around the globe just after my detox (a few yrs ago), and my thought was that they could all have had the same template.. From memory that would be the WHO..?? I will post if I find it...

 

I have always had to see my Prescribing Dr monthly, -or forgnightly when on opiates as I had to take them 4x a day instead of the normal twice...

Yes, it sure was a pain in the ass and often damaging, in that it required updosing by some method, Thus me not presenting in my normal state.. Which my Dr at the time was happy to overlook for his convenience.. -Far from ideal to say the least...

That said, These are serious and dangerous meds, and I cant realy see any Dr that has their patients health as a priority not wanting to see their patient regularly...  Mine knows how im feeling before I even get down the hall to her room..

Writing the script only takes a fraction of my double appointment times, Yet we always run out of time or go over... Part of it is checking things, or exploring options, But most of it realy is wholistic type support, encouragement, and I imagine her looking for warning signs.. Its a relationship, -she knows its important for me to be heard and understood.. But also as the prescriber, she needs to be sure that writing that script is in my best interest, short and long term...

Sadly I know we all dont get this from our Drs, But seeing a Dr quickly for a script every 6 months isnt going to help the situation.. -Particularly if problems arise...

Another aspect is that my Dr has never come across these type of complications at this level, so its new to her too, and by seeing her regularly im sure she is in a much better position to validate this to all the other Drs that work in her practice.. She has mentioned their initial disbelief and suprise at the situation...  A good flow on effect, Imo..

So yeah, while its a royal pain at times, I think that seeing our Drs regularly is a good thing in the long run...  Obviously not with a Dr thats a complete ass though.. But thats realy another problem in itself...

 

Writing an initiating script for only 1 month is pretty self explanitory, and can only be a good thing Imo.. (as opposed to longer term prescribing)..

 

Am I wrong in thinking that the wheels are slowly turning in the right direction, and we are just unlucky to be caught up in the transition..??

 

I hope this makes sense..?? Brain fried that I am...

 

[[Lo...]]

 

If everyone on Benzos in the News is off “their “ benzo, then why not support others who are still trying to taper? 

 

Why try to frighten others who are doing their best to get off?

 

I thought BB is a support site, but maybe I’m wrong.

 

Thank you for saying this. I have a lot of issues tapering, and it's taking a long time, and sometimes I feel like a 2nd class citizen here for still being "on the benzo" where the others have made it off. I am all for people being proud to be off their benzos, but does that mean that the rest of us who are struggling need to feel like we're a bunch of losers who can't get off their benzos? This is one of the biggest reasons why I am not on this site as much as I used to be.

 

I'm having some trouble understanding the grievances here.  Me myself, I've been off for 4.5 years, and have regularly contributed to Benzos in the News, practically since joining BB.  So you're speaking to me for one and, obviously, I have to take this rather personally.  Have I unwittingly been guilty of this abovementioned insensitivity?  It honestly never even entered my mind.  In fact, I don't believe I've ever seen this attitude from anyone else in the News section either.  In my view, most of the "regulars" here are actually incredibly supportive in other sections of BB.  But in the News section, well, that's what we do here, we share and discuss news.

 

Also, for what it's worth, the BIC peeps who post here too, are themselves still tapering.

 

So I'm wondering, for clarity's sake, are both of you able to reference specific posts or comments of mine whereby it may be construed as my trying "to frighten others who are doing their best to get off" and trying to make"the rest of us who are struggling feel like we're a bunch of losers who can't get off their benzos".  Because, seriously, I'm thinking there may also be others reading who are a bit confused and not feeling too good about themselves now.

 

Thanks! 

 

I have every right to feel how I feel and I don't owe anyone any explanations. Empathy is a gift, after all.

 

This is just silly now, LF.  Feelings and empathy work both ways.  Nobody likes to be accused - seemingly out of the blue - of hurtful intent when all they thought they were doing was innocently and appropriately sharing and discussing the news in the news section ... in full accordance with BB's rules and the guidelines of the board.

 

Kiss and make up? 

 

I understand, abcd. Maybe it was silly on my part. I did have a bad case of an echo chamber feeling today when I went to this therad, which probably means that I should not have posted here in the first place. But yes, I had an echo chamber feeling, thinking that this info here won't reach anyone who's not already in the trenches. I am really skeptical that many people find this forum until things get pretty dire in general. And this legislation wouldn't make much sense to those who are really not in the know.

 

I actually went and logged off BB and looked at this thread as a guest, pretending that I knew very little about benzodiazepines or tapering or anything, and I have to say that a lot of it looked like a lot of technical and legal and liability info that did not really make an awful lot of sense.

 

To be honest, I just don't like this new legislation a whole lot. I don't think it really takes into the account that there are only so many times in a certain time period that a person who is relatively new to benzodiazepines can get that 4 week prescription before thing hitting the fan in a really bad way. And this is probably the first thing I should have written on this thread, because it appears to me that the issues of dangerous repeated exposures to short courses of benzos are not really looked at in this legislation. I just don't see it. I mean these are de facto the same guidelines that doctors had back in the 1990's. Just cracking a whip on them will maybe result in fewer benzo prescriptions, but will that send people into a local bar instead?

 

I am not a big fan of government intervening in this matter too much. I think it should be between the doctor and the patient to get this sorted out. BB is a useful adjunct/support site, but that's how it should stay. A support site. I do believe in educating doctors much more than enforcing legislation on them. I guess I don't trust the government making decisions re: prescription drugs. So much for how the opioid crisis had been handled so far. There was a time and a place when governments could have done more, but things have been left out of control and simply enforcing guidelines that had been there for the longest time without educating the doctors as far as to why these guidelines even exist.

 

I do like the Ashton taper idea in the legislation, but I also think that the doctors will try to force-taper patients too quickly. There's got to be a clause to allow people to stay on benzos if they choose to, as some cannot safely get off of them due to severe health issues or severe depression or both.