Naloxone Expansion Rules To Go Before Maine Pharmacy Board

AUGUSTA, Maine - The Maine Board of Pharmacy is set to discuss making an overdose-reversing drug available without a prescription.
 
Maine lawmakers in 2016 passed a bill to make naloxone available without a doctor's prescription, but the law languished as regulators said lawmakers needed to change its wording for it to become effective.
 
Lawmakers fixed the law last year, but the latest rules have stalled for months.
 
The pharmacy board's president Joe Bruno in January said the rules await approval from Maine's governor. Gov. Paul LePage's press secretary has said the rules are pending in the governor's office.
 
But LePage this week said the rules don't need his approval.
 
LePage has opposed widespread distribution of naloxone, also known as Narcan. He argues the life-saving drug is a crutch that keeps people using drugs.