YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Ohio is taking the next major step to fight opiate and heroin addiction.

Implementing new rules for prescribing drugs for acute or severe pain.

It's Governor John Kasich's and his Opiate Action Team's strategy to save lives and fight addiction.

The goal is to reduce the chance of getting addicted in the first place, and to make sure there are no leftover drugs for others to get their hands on.

Opiods are tiny pills powerful enough to forever change and damage lives as we've all learned because of the heroin and opiod epidemic.
It's a story we've heard far too often from those now addicted.

Many were given a legal prescription of pain pills for an injury or operation and when that ran out, some went to the streets in search of more, others went doctor shopping for prescription opiates, or they switched to heroin because it was often far cheaper and easier to come by.

Michael Mone, the President of the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy, said, "By instituting one of the most robust and comprehensive strategies to address opiate abuse in the country, Ohio has seen a significant decrease in the numer of opiates prescribed to patients."

Now Ohio is going one step further and with the support of Governor John Kasich will put new limits on opiate prescriptions for acute pain.

According to the Governor's Office:
1. No more than seven days of opiates can be prescribed for adults;
2. No more than five days of opiates can be prescribed for minors;
3. The total morphine equivalent dose (MED) of a prescription for acute pain cannot exceed an average of 30 MED per day;
4.  Health care providers can prescribe opiates in excess of the new limits only if they provide a specific reason in the patient's medical record.  Unless such a reason is given, a health care provider is prohibited from prescribing opiates that exceeded Ohio's limits;
5.  Prescribers will be required to include a diagnosis or procedure code on every controlled substance prescription, which will be entered into Oho's prescription monitoring program, OARRS;
6.  The new limits do not apply to opiods prescribed for cancer, palliative care, end-of-life/hospice care or medication-assisted treatment for addiction;
7.   The new limits will be enacted through rules passed by the State Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, Dental Board and Board of Nursing.

Cassandra Slipski of Hometown Pharmacy in Cornersburg believes  it's a long time coming and it's needed to stop this epidemic.  "Right now, there's really no limit on how much a doctor can prescribe or how long that medication can be prescribed for.  With the new law they are only allowed to prescribe for seven days at a time.  So hopefully that will help the patient not have so much medication on hand to them," Slipski said.

People with chronic health conditions who are often prescribed opiates by their doctors may be excluded from the new limits but should consult with their physicians to make sure.

Sources at the Ohio Statehouse tell 21 News the new limits are not likely to take effect for at least another 90 to 120 days after specific language is spelled out and a public hearing is held.

A clinician and physician's failure to follow the rules would impact their medical license.